Philips is expected to sign a medical research partnership agreement on Wednesday with one of China’s biggest hospitals, a first for multinational companies in the country.

The Dutch group, which is the world number three in medical imaging equipment, is set to form a partnership with the West China Hospital in Sichuan province, which, with 4,300 beds and 2m outpatients, is the largest single-building hospital in China and one of the largest in the world.