China plans to train 1,300 overseas TCM professionals in next 3 years

China announced on Saturday that it plans to train 1,300 professionals in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) from Belt and Road partner countries over the next three years, as part of its efforts to promote international exchange and preservation of TCM expertise.

The initiative was unveiled by the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine (NATCM) at the ongoing 3rd World Conference on Science and Technology of TCM and 2024 Changchun International Medicine and Health Industry Expo, held in Changchun, northeast China's Jilin Province.

During the event's overseas matchmaking session, more than 50 international buyers from over 20 Belt and Road countries had one-on-one business meetings with TCM suppliers, highlighting the growing interest in TCM across different regions.

"We do know a little bit about China and Chinese medicine. But normally what we know [is] that you have some herbal medicine, as we do have in some Latin American countries. But coming here, it was fantastic to see that in China, herbal medicine is down at such high pharmaceutical level," said Bkhnov Elena, a buyer from Peru.

The overseas buyers expressed interest in a wide range of TCM-related products, from pharmaceuticals and medical devices to health supplements. Many were eager to establish partnerships with China's leading TCM manufacturers.

Since the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013, international cooperation in the TCM field has seen remarkable progress. TCM has now spread to 196 countries and regions, with over 300,000 practitioners operating more than 80,000 TCM clinics outside China.

"The international scientific research cooperation program for TCM will focus on acupuncture, herbal medicine, and evidence-based studies of traditional medicine. We will collaborate with relevant countries, regions, international organizations, and multilateral mechanisms to promote scientific innovation, exchange, and the application of research outcomes, aiming to enhance the scientific research level of traditional medicine. We plan to train 1,300 professionals in the next three years as its first step," said Yu Yanhong, NATCM director. The conference and industrial expo runs from Saturday to Monday.

China plans to train 1,300 overseas TCM professionals in next 3 years

The Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP) on Tuesday held their 12th theory seminar in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, sharing experience in the improvement of development mechanisms.

Li Shulei, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, and Kikeo Khaykhamphithoune, a member of the Political Bureau of the LPRP Central Committee and deputy prime minister of Laos, attended the seminar and delivered keynote speeches.

Noting that China and Laos are friendly socialist neighbors, Li said that in recent years, the general secretaries of the two parties have been steering the construction of a China-Laos community with a shared future in the new era and providing guidance for the development of relations between the two parties and countries.

The CPC Central Committee has put forward a series of new strategies since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, leading to historic achievements in China's economic development, Li said.

He said China upholds and is strengthening the Party's overall leadership over economic work, adheres to a people-centered development philosophy, and is continuously improving the institutional mechanisms related to the promotion of high-quality economic development.

China is also coordinating deepened reforms with high-level opening-up, and achieving healthy, sustained economic development while improving the quality of life of its people, Li said.

The Lao side expressed its willingness to work with China to implement the important consensus reached between the top leaders of the two countries, as well as its readiness to enhance political mutual trust and deepen exchanges related to publicity, ideology and culture.

Prior to the seminar, Li met with the Lao delegation.

Chinese, Lao political parties hold 12th theory seminar in Xi'an

Chinese, Lao political parties hold 12th theory seminar in Xi'an