At a national conference on traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)
that opened on Thursday in Beijing, State Administration of
Traditional Chinese Medicine Director She Jing vowed to promote the
use of TCM around the world.
Cao Hongxin, president of the China Academy of Traditional
Chinese Medicine, said agreements with other countries on the use
of these medicines were necessary and would play an active role in
getting it accepted abroad.
The TCM administration and the Ministry of Health have so far
signed agreements with 67 countries, he said.
The agreements differ widely from country to country. For example,
China and Italy are cooperating in research and development for
difficult-to-treat diseases.
China's TCM exports have risen nearly 5.5 percent per year for
the past five years. Exports were worth US$720 million in 2003.
A TCM administration report, quoting a World Bank forecast, said
that by 2008 the global natural herbs industry would be worth
US$200 billion. In 2000 it was about US$80 billion.
Director Shen Zhixiang of the administration's Department of
International Cooperation said that looking to China's future, the
theories and experiences of old TCM practitioners would continue to
be collected while treatments would be extended into other
areas.
For example, the number of provinces using TCM on a trial basis
to treat HIV/AIDS will be expanded from the current five to eleven
next year, she said.
Shen also said that the administration and government bodies are
working to submit a bid to UNESCO to have TCM included on list of
intangible world cultural heritage. Recognition by the UN body
would help to promote the image of TCM worldwide.
However, Cao said that medical sciences should not necessarily
be treated as a heritage.
"The term 'heritage' just gives people an impression of being
outdated," Cao said, adding that TCM is still developing and open
to innovations.
(China Daily January 7, 2005)
