Traditional Chinese medicine goes global

BEIJING -- Pinellia is a common type of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) used in the country for centuries, yet today, the humble plant is preparing to go abroad.

Pinellia has the functions of clearing phlegm and alleviating vomiting. It is widely used as herbal medicine in China, Japan and other Asian countries.

From 2015 to 2019, China exported 1,800 tonnes of pinellia each year, with the annual overseas trade amounting to 1 million US dollars.

But the herbal medicine is currently not widely spread in Western markets, while TCM still substitutes for and complements Western medicine in many countries.

In order to push the globalization of pinellia, the market supervision and administration body of Shaoxing, east China's Zhejiang Province, began developing and promoting international standards to regulate the production and quality of pinellia.

These international standards are like an international circulating currency for TCM, aiming to maximize market acceptance and awareness of pinellia as well as lower its trade barriers.

In 2019, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) and the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine jointly authorized the first group of 17 national TCM export bases. This year, the country issued a circular to support the high-quality development of the export bases. The list of export bases will be expanded by the end of this year.

In the country's 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), TCM was given priority to push forward the reform and development of the industry.

During the 2021 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS), Beijing pledged to build a global platform and push forward constructing a series of TCM globalization projects to improve the level of TCM service and trade.

TCM has been playing an important role in the COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control efforts. China has shared TCM clinical experience with about 150 countries and regions, provided TCM products to more than 10 countries and regions based on their demand, and sent TCM doctors to 28 countries and regions to help fight the pandemic.

Cameroon student Anne Praxede has been studying at the Jiangxi University of Chinese Medicine in the eastern Chinese province since 2016. She hopes to learn more about TCM including acupuncture, cupping therapy and moxibustion.

Jiangxi is known for its age-old history of traditional Chinese medicine and a robust basis for the development of TCM, said Yu Wei, a researcher at Ganjiang Chinese Medicine Innovation Center.

The center is conducting experiments using supercritical carbon dioxide to extract the components from herbal medicine.

This is the first time that Anne has ever witnessed the extraction of medicinal plants. She and 1,100 other foreign college students from 32 countries and regions are studying at the Jiangxi University of Chinese Medicine.

Strengthening the exchange of talent and promoting technologies will accelerate the internationalization of TCM, said Tu Zhitao, chief of the Beijing Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Tu suggested improving the localization of TCM personnel and the growth of herbal medicine abroad.