Western drugmakers have complained about how long it can take to get a drug approved for sale in China. Here is why, FiercePharmaAsia reports, citing Reuters: China had a backlog of more than 18,500 drugs awaiting approval by the end of 2014, up 33% from the previous year, according to the China FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation. China's drug trial center received 8,868 drug applications in 2014, up from 7,610 the year before, according to the annual report released on Friday in Chinese. The surge comes after a new process was put into place two years ago to both check safety and bring products to market more quickly. More from FiercePharmaAsia