Chinese Medicine International Cooperation Integrated into Belt and Road Construction

By Lily Wang

Nowadays， traditional Chi- nese medicine is becoming more and more famous internationally. According to data released by the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine， in terms of policy communication， traditional Chinese medicine has spread to 196 countries and regions in the world， and the multilateral exchange and cooperation mechanism of traditional Chinese medicine has been improving day by day. In terms of resource connectivity， China has established 30 high-quality traditional Chinese medicine centers in countries along the Belt and Road region， and launched the constructions of 56 bases for the international exchange and cooperation in Chinese medicine at home.

At the fourth Belt and Road Forum for traditional Chinese medicine Development held during the CIFTIS， delegates from foreign countries gave high praise about the historical and scientific value of traditional Chinese medicine and look forward to seeing more international cooperation in traditional Chinese medicine.

Praise for traditional Chinese medicine

Chen Zhu， Vice Chairman of the standing committee of the National Peoples Congress， said in his televised speech that traditional Chinese medicine is a great creation of the Chinese people and a treasure of ancient Chinese science. We must inherit， make good use of and develop traditional Chinese medicine， and contribute Chinese wisdom to the construction of a shared community of public health for mankind.

Chen Zhu stressed that it is important to use traditional Chinese medicine as it has been for centuries， but also keeps innovating and developing. China will ensure that traditional Chinese medicine can play a role in preventing and treating the COVID-19 pandemic， continue topromote traditional Chinese medical services to the world and ensure we can contribute to the welfare of the people of the world.

Gao Yan， Chairperson of the CCPIT， said that traditional Chinese medicine contains the concepts and practices of Chinese peoples physical health for thousands of years； it is a great creation of the Chinese people and a treasure of ancient Chinese science. As an important brand and vehicle for conveying the concept of health， traditional Chinese medicine has become an important part of building a shared community of human destiny and increasing people-to-people connectivity with the Belt and Road region. The CCPIT will give further play to its own advantages， with constant innovation to expand platforms， strengthened publicity， continued exhibition forums and economic and trade training， strengthened services online and offline， promoting the high-quality development of traditional Chinese medicine， and contribute to the construction of a shared health community.

Huang Luqi， Deputy Chairman and member of the CPC committee of State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine， said that since the Belt and Road Initiative was raised， State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine has been actively engaged in the Belt and Road construction. Traditional Chinese medicine has made important contributions to the health and well-being of the people of Belt and Road regions and promoted connec-tivity. Regarding future work， it is important to incorporate traditional Chinese medicine into Belt and Road construction， and promote the construction of shared public health. It is important to play to the strength of traditional Chinese medicine， and increase the high-quality supply of traditional Chinese medical services， and help fight the global pandemic. It is also important to raise the benefits of traditional Chinese medicine and share these benefits with countries along the Belt and Road region. It shall accurately design and implement TCM cooperation strategies， models and programs based on the conditions of targeting countries and health needs of local people， and explore the roles TCM planting play in reducing poverty and protecting the environment， to make more contributions to the targeting country and make TCM the useful resources for countries along the Belt and Road regions. We shall strive to coordinate domestic and international markets and help build a new development patterns. We shall support different regions and institutions to carry out various forms of international exchange and cooperation in the realm of TCM， and absorb advanced management experience and technology while expanding the international market and cooperation. It is also important to provide better medical services for domestic people and give full play to the important role of integrated industries such as traditional Chinese medicine and health tourism and forest health care， to promote the development of the domestic health service industry.

Li Yuanxu， Chairman of the Board of Science， Technology， Information and Telecommunication of the Congress of South Korea， said in his speech that as the world is suffering from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic， the cooperation between western and Chinese medicine has attracted more and more attention. Research is being conducted in various fields of Chinese medicine， and if South Korea and China work more closely on such research， traditional oriental medicine will contribute more to the world health.

Chalermchai Sri-On， Thailands Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives， said that in Thailand， traditional Chinese medicine has been deeply integrated with Thailands traditional medicine and plays a very useful role. He said that as economic globalization continues to develop， it is important for countries to work together to enhance global health governance. Traditional Chinese medicine has been transitioning from an ancient pharmacopeia discipline to a modern discipline. It is hoped that Chinese and Thailand medicine will work together to establish a quality standard to provide alternatives of medical health services for all people.

Paige Snider， Senior Advisor to the WHOs China office， said that the practice of traditional medicine has deep historical and cultural roots. Traditional medicine and complementary medicine can make key contributions to the realization of a healthy life. Nearly 90% of WHO member states have reported the use of some forms of traditional and complementary drugs. Paige Snider revealed that the WHO plans to release a report on “properly integrating traditional medicine into the medical system and medical services” next year. This report will cover a variety of merger forms and indicator tools to evaluate the integration of Chinese and Western medicine， traditional and modern medicine. The WHO hopes that the report will benefit all regions and people of all ages.

Clare Fearnley， New Zealand Ambassador to China， said that for thousands of years， people in China and surrounding areas have benefited a lot from traditional Chinese medicine. Now， Chinese medicine continues to benefit people all over the world. Traditional Chinese medicine is increasingly integrated into modern medicine， and its importance is increasingly recognized. New Zealand and China have been working closely in the export of traditional Chinese medicine， traditional Chinese medicine teaching and the cooperation of science. Fearnley looks forward to a higher level of bilateral cooperation in traditional Chinese medicine.

Ali Obaid Al Dhaheri， UAE Ambassador to China， said that China has many historical treasures and that traditional Chinese medicine is one of such treasures for China， but also for the entire world. Traditional Chinese medicine has a long history and has been proven to be very effective in the treatment of many infectious and chronic diseases. Traditional medicine has also played a key role in controlling the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mahbub Uz Zaman， Ambassador of Bangladesh to China， said that traditional Chinese medicine enjoys a goodreputation in Bangladesh during a video speech， and Chinese acupuncture， herbal medicine， cupping， scraping and Chinese massage are widely praised in Bangladesh. “My mother is living with me in Beijing. As she is old， she is also taking traditional Chinese medicine，” Zaman said when explaining his own experience with traditional Chinese medicine， trying to promote the use of traditional Chinese medicine in Bangladesh. He hoped that both China and Bangladesh would work more closely under the framework of the Belt and Road forum on traditional Chinese medicine， in order to promote the cooperation and development of traditional medicine.

Clarify standards and find the cutting point

Chen Hongjun， Deputy Director of the Department of Standard and Technology of the State Administration for Market Regulation， believes that standards are an important support for the development of the traditional Chinese medicine industry. It is important to strengthen scientific research surrounding traditional Chinese medicine， improving an international standardization level regulating the industry management， promoting the modernization of the industry and speeding up the spread of traditional Chinese medicine to the world. A standard like this is conducive to enhancing the influence of traditional Chinese medicine and improving the health and well-being of people living in the Belt and Road region.

Chen Ronghu， Deputy Director of the Science and Technology Department of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine， said that under the background of economic globalization and scientific and technological integration， standards have become the commanding heights of the economy and scientific and technolo gical competition. Developed countries have incorporated standards into their national strategies， and traditional Chinese Medicine is also facing many challenges in the process of standardization. The primary thing to do is to formulate a strategic layout and enhance the quality of standards， before international certification.

According to the Deputy Director of the Standing Committee of the Beijing Municipal Peoples Congress， Beijing has been making full use of the intergovernmental cooperation mechanism to provide policy support for international cooperation in traditional Chinese medicine. On May 1， the revised Regulation on Traditional Chinese Medicine of Beijing Municipality took effect officially， and the regulation proposes to support foreign cooperation in traditional Chinese medicine and medical services， scientific research， talent training and cultural communication. Beijing has been actively engaging in the research and formulation of development strategies， policy trends， as well as standard norms of international organizations， in order tocreate an international environment suitable for the overseas development of traditional Chinese medicine.

Ding Yongling， Deputy General Manager of Tongrentang Group， said that Tongrentang has accumulated some distinct experiences and practices from the exploration of promoting traditional Chinese medicine culture overseas. The first is to adhere to the characteristic value concept system， and develop a sense of responsibility and health； the second is to promote the construction of Tongrentangs characteristic standard system to improve both quality and health； the third is to strengthen the constructions of communication system in order to improve the health services.

It is reported that during the pan- demic， Tongrentang quickly selected more than 80 pandemic-control medicine varieties from thousands of varieties， and made every effort to collect and transport pandemic prevention materials from more than a dozen countries and regions around the world， so as to provide sufficient logistics support for health worldwide. In addition， Tongrentang has set up special personnel and counters in overseas stores to promote pandemic-control medical products， prepare pamphlets about pandemic control and carry out long-distance medical and postal services.

Li Chuyuan， Chairman of Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Holdings， said that Guangzhou Pharmaceutical will first seize the opportunities of the Belt and Road and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau gulf region， and is engaging in cooperation with counterparts in Macau to support the medical industry of Macau. It is also committed to developing new growth areas of the pharmaceutical industry that cover Guangdong， Hong Kong， Macau， the Southeast Asia and even the Portuguese-speaking countries. In Li Chuyuans view， in order to go overseas， traditional Chinese medicine must be innovative and develop new products loved by the consumers. Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Holdings has raised the concept of creating more fashionable traditional Chinese medicine. Trough advanced scientific research technology and using the current market model tailored to young consumers， the company is developing health products needed by the social public. On top of that， it is promoting cooperation of its subsidiary companies with other sectors， to factor fashion elements into the traditional Chinese medicine. It is also working more closely with international pharmaceutical giants.

This forum is organized by the CCPIT， National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the Chinese Peoples Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries. It is held by the COOIC， China Traditional Medicine Newspaper Co， Ltd.， China Traditional Medicine Science and Technology Development Center and Secretariat of Belt and Road Forum of Traditional Chinese Medicine.