the structure of healthcare charges can also vary dramatically among countries. for instance, chinese hospital charges tend toward 50% for drugs, another major percentage for equipment, and a small percentage for healthcare professional fees. china has implemented a long-term transformation of its healthcare industry, beginning in the 1980s. over the first twenty-five years of this transformation, government contributions to healthcare expenditures have dropped from 36% to 15%, with the burden of managing this decrease falling largely on patients. also over this period, a small proportion of state-owned hospitals have been privatized. as an incentive to privatization, foreign investment in hospitals—up to 70% ownership has been encouraged.