Health & Beauty

In 2022, China's foreign trade of traditional Chinese medicine products maintained a relatively stable growth trend, with a total foreign trade volume of 8.57 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 10.7%. Among them, the export value was 5.69 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 13.8%; The import volume reached 2.88 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 5.1%. The overseas registration of traditional Chinese medicine has also achieved good results. However, the development of overseas registration, transformation, and sales of traditional Chinese medicine still requires time to settle, and it is difficult to lead the rapid growth of foreign trade of traditional Chinese medicine in the short term. In addition, the international political and economic situation is unstable, and the global industrial chain pattern is transforming into a regional industrial chain pattern. In 2023, the international trade of traditional Chinese medicine may face even more severe challenges.

Opportunities and challenges coexist. How to effectively promote the overseas development of Chinese medicine, the author believes that it is necessary to establish their own "circle of friends". We can use the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (hereinafter referred to as SCO), the "the Belt and Road" initiative, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), etc. to tell a good story about China, promote the concept and products of Chinese medicine, and then promote the overseas development of Chinese medicine.

Expanding the "circle of friends" of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to promote exchanges and mutual learning of traditional medicine

On September 16, 2022, the 22nd meeting of the Council of Heads of State of SCO Member States was held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. At the meeting, the memorandum on Iran's obligations to join the SCO was signed, the procedure for accepting Belarus as a member state was initiated, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar were approved, and Bahrain, Maldives, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Myanmar were agreed as new dialogue partners. The continuous expansion of the SCO provides a broader platform for communication and cooperation among member states. At present, China has established overseas traditional Chinese medicine centers in multiple SCO related countries, promoting the coordinated development of traditional Chinese medicine service trade and goods trade. In 2022, the import and export volume of traditional Chinese medicine between China and relevant countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization was 820 million US dollars, accounting for approximately 10% of China's total foreign trade volume of traditional Chinese medicine.

In recent years, China has carried out extensive exchanges and cooperation with relevant SCO countries in the field of Traditional medicine. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization Traditional Medicine Industry Alliance, established in September 2022, is a non-governmental, non-profit, and open cooperation and exchange platform established under the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The work content of the alliance is based on helping traditional medicine enterprises deepen global industrial chain cooperation, and further promoting the exchange and mutual learning of Traditional medicine among SCO member countries and the development of traditional medicine industry by strengthening multi-level exchanges, interactions and cooperation in industry, education, research and medicine. The first batch of alliance member institutions includes 50, including 11 industry organizations, 5 research institutes, 3 medical institutions, 5 universities, and 26 leading enterprises.

Seize the RCEP opportunity to achieve shared and win-win situation

On January 1, 2022, RCEP officially took effect. At present, the RCEP market has become the largest free trade zone in the world.

RCEP region is an important import and export trade partner concentration place for Chinese herbal medicines, Chinese herbal pieces and traditional Chinese patent medicines and simple preparations in China. The implementation of RCEP has significantly improved the level of regional economic integration in East Asia, promoted the integration of regional industrial chains, supply chains, and value chains, and is conducive to strengthening trade and exchange cooperation in traditional Chinese medicine.

In 2022, China's total import and export trade of traditional Chinese medicine products in the RCEP market was 3.36 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 17.0%. Among them, the export volume was 2.02 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 17.3%, and the export volume was 160000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 5.0%; The import volume was 1.34 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 16.6%, and the import volume was 183000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 76.0%.

Taking Malaysia as an example, the author roughly estimates that the country has more than 800 kinds of medicinal animal and plant resources, including more than 700 kinds of medicinal plant resources, such as Youdun Grass, Orthosiphon aristatus Grass, Black faced General, Dongge Ali, Dendrobium, etc. However, currently there are only 11 types of traditional Chinese medicine materials allowed to be imported from Malaysia in China, and most of them are plant-based Chinese medicinal materials, including piper longum, betel nut, clove, cardamom, zedoary rhizome, pepper, ginger (ginger, dried ginger), fresh or dried agarwood, fresh or dried chrysanthemums, fresh or dried woody incense, and dragon's blood. From the perspective of the types of traditional Chinese medicine, the number of imported varieties is relatively small, and Malaysia's rich medicinal plant resources have not been effectively developed and utilized. Even Malaysia's national treasure grade medicinal herb, Dongge Ali, has not yet been introduced into the Chinese market. The author believes that after the implementation of RCEP, the international trade of traditional Chinese medicine between China and Malaysia will become closer. In the future, the categories and scale of imported and exported traditional Chinese medicine varieties between China and Malaysia will be further expanded, and it is expected to fully realize the sharing of traditional Chinese medicine resources between China and Malaysia. With the deepening of bilateral cooperation and exchange, China and Malaysia will form a new and close exchange and cooperation relationship of Traditional medicine, and promote the inheritance, innovation, development and application of Traditional medicine in both countries.

Deeply cultivate the markets along the "the Belt and Road" to promote the overseas development of Chinese medicine

Traditional Chinese medicine was an important Chinese element on the ancient Silk Road. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, China began exporting traditional Chinese medicine culture to the world and introducing characteristic therapies from other countries and regions. In recent years, Chinese medicine has been widely recognized by the people of countries and regions along the "the Belt and Road". Diseases have no borders, medical treatment has no borders, and the changes in disease spectrum are also forcing traditional Chinese medicine to "go global". Chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, tumor and diabetes have become a heavy medical burden for all countries and regions. Traditional Chinese medicine has formed an integrated theoretical system and rich methods and technologies of disease prevention and treatment from health preservation, prevention and treatment of diseases, early intervention, to treatment based on syndrome differentiation, strengthening the healthy and eliminating pathogenic factors, which has a good effect in preventing and treating chronic diseases and delaying the development of chronic diseases.

In 2015, 65 countries and regions initially responded to the "the Belt and Road" initiative. By January 2023, China has signed more than 200 cooperation documents on jointly building the "the Belt and Road" with 151 countries and regions and 32 international organizations. The "the Belt and Road" circle of friends has further expanded.

According to Chinese customs data, in 2015, the import and export volume of Chinese medicine in international trade between China and 65 countries and regions that initially responded to the "the Belt and Road" initiative was 1.25 billion US dollars, accounting for 5.3% of the total foreign trade volume of Chinese medicine between China and the world that year. Among them, the export value was 950 million US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 12.4%; The import volume was 301 million US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 1.0%. In 2022, the import and export volume of China's traditional Chinese medicine international trade with 151 countries and regions along the "the Belt and Road" will be 3.55 billion US dollars, accounting for 41.4% of China's total foreign trade volume of traditional Chinese medicine that year. Among them, the export value was 1.94 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 16.7%; The import volume was 1.61 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 18.8%.

The "the Belt and Road" initiative provides preferential policies in tariff, investment and other aspects to help China's traditional Chinese medicine "go global" and "bring in". It is believed that with the further expansion of the "the Belt and Road" circle of friends, the overseas international trade market of TCM will develop more smoothly.