Health & Beauty

The launching ceremony of the 2022 China International Trade in Services Fair's theme day of traditional Chinese medicine and the 7th Overseas Chinese and Chinese Traditional Chinese Medicine Conference were held in Beijing a few days ago. It is reported that traditional Chinese medicine is a national health industry with completely independent intellectual property rights and huge original innovation potential in China. The Chinese government has actively promoted the high-quality development of Chinese medicine service trade, and has issued two batches of national Chinese medicine service export base lists. The first batch of Chinese medicine service trade pilot key regions have achieved remarkable results. With the continuous release of policy benefits, the service trade of traditional Chinese medicine will open up broader development space during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period.

Obvious advantages in service trade of traditional Chinese medicine

"With the development of modern information technology, the trend of service trade in goods and the digitalization of service trade is obvious. Service trade has become an important force to promote the growth of the world economy, and the trade in traditional Chinese medicine services, as an important part of China's characteristic service trade, has obvious comparative advantages." Zhu Guangyao, deputy director of the Department of Service Trade and Trade Services of the Ministry of Commerce, said at the meeting.

According to the data released by the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, traditional Chinese medicine has established official contacts with 169 countries and regions, and the total international trade exports of traditional Chinese medicine products during the "13th Five-Year Plan" period reached 26 billion US dollars.

Huang Luqi, deputy director of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, president of the Chinese Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine and academician of the CAE Member, pointed out that since the COVID-19 broke out, the combination of traditional Chinese medicine and western medicine and the combination of traditional and western medicine has become a highlight of China's plan for epidemic prevention and control, as well as a vivid practice of inheritance and innovation of traditional Chinese medicine. The recognition of the efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine by the World Health Organization and the successful experience in treating patients with COVID-19 in Cambodia have created conditions for the improvement of the international recognition of traditional Chinese medicine and the expansion of the international application of traditional Chinese medicine services and products.

In recent years, the high-quality development of traditional Chinese medicine service trade has received a number of policy support. In documents such as the Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Promoting the Inheritance and Innovation of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the Implementation Opinions of the General Office of the State Council on Promoting the Innovation and Development of Foreign Trade, specific requirements are put forward for vigorously developing the trade in traditional Chinese medicine services, strengthening the construction of the national export base of traditional Chinese medicine services, and expanding the export of traditional Chinese medicine services.

Wu Zhendou, Director of the International Cooperation Department of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, said that in 2019, the Ministry of Commerce and the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine jointly selected the first batch of 17 national export bases of traditional Chinese medicine services in order to encourage the pilot experiment, give play to the demonstration effect, and drive the Chinese medicine service trade industry to become bigger and stronger.

In 2021, the seven departments jointly issued the Notice on Several Measures to Support the High-quality Development of National Chinese Medicine Service Export Base, and proposed 18 specific policy measures. In February 2022, the Ministry of Commerce and the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine jointly selected the second batch of 14 national export bases of traditional Chinese medicine services to further support the trade in traditional Chinese medicine services.

"As one of the first batch of key areas for the first pilot of Chinese medicine service trade, Beijing has gradually improved its opening up policy guarantee system." Zhou Ying, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Health Commission, said that Beijing's Chinese medicine service industry has taken shape in expanding its opening up and has launched five batches of 59 Chinese medicine cultural tourism demonstration bases. Guang'anmen Hospital of the Chinese Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Xiyuan Hospital and Beijing Tongrentang have been identified as the national export bases of traditional Chinese medicine services, with the number of bases ranking among the top in the country.

New platforms, new formats and new opportunities

"Traditional Chinese medicine service trade is a national health industry with completely independent intellectual property rights and huge original innovation potential in China. Strengthening the organization, guidance and standardization of traditional Chinese medicine service trade to support the expansion and strengthening of traditional Chinese medicine service trade will play a positive role in promoting the structural adjustment of China's service trade, building China's service brand, and effectively driving employment and economic growth." Zhu Haidong, deputy director of the International Cooperation Department of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, said.

The establishment of a large platform is an important part of boosting the trade in traditional Chinese medicine services. On the same day, the list of the second batch of national TCM service export bases was officially announced, and the SCO Traditional Medicine Industry Alliance was announced.

"Two batches of 31 national TCM service export bases will further play an exemplary role in cultivating high-quality TCM service trade market entities and new business forms and models, and promote high-quality development of TCM service trade," said Huang Luqi.

Meng Dongping, Vice President of the China Chamber of Commerce for the Import and Export of Medical and Health Products, said that the Alliance, as a non-governmental, non-profit and open international cooperation organization, would promote closer trade exchanges and cooperation among member countries in the field of traditional medicine. In particular, it will strengthen continuous investment to promote the convergence of laws and policies of various member countries at the level of traditional medicine, the integration and docking of domestic and foreign markets, and the docking of trade and investment cooperation.

High-level open platforms, such as the Service Trade Fair and the International Trade Fair, will also create a good international environment for the development of Chinese medicine service trade. It is understood that in recent years, Beijing has successfully held the service trade fair (TCM service sector) and the overseas Chinese and overseas Chinese TCM conference every year, receiving more than 300000 person-times from nearly 110 countries and regions, with a contract value of nearly 3 billion yuan.

During this year's trade fair, the total area of the traditional Chinese medicine service exhibition area covering an area of 2000 square meters has doubled over that of last year. Promote the "going out" of traditional Chinese medicine services and attract international trade cooperation. "We hope that the high-level achievements of the development of traditional Chinese medicine can be fully displayed, the scientific and technological innovation of traditional Chinese medicine can be shared, the achievements of our scientific and technological education can be shared by Chinese medicine people at home and abroad, the trade platform of traditional Chinese medicine services will be broader, the cross-border integration of innovative products and service systems will be richer, the new pattern of high-quality development of the traditional Chinese medicine industry will be built, and the modernization and internationalization of traditional Chinese medicine will be promoted in an all-round way." Zhou Ying said.

In addition, in Zhu Guangyao's view, with the rapid development of modern information technology, the online application scenarios of traditional Chinese medicine have been constantly enriched, and the rapid development of new business forms and new models such as remote consultation, diagnosis and treatment, and teaching has greatly increased the tradability of traditional Chinese medicine services. Traditional Chinese medicine service trade is in the development opportunity period of digital wave.

Broader market space is expected

We should focus on both the present and the long term. A series of policy dividends need to be released continuously, opening a broader space for the development of traditional Chinese medicine service trade.

In March this year, the General Office of the State Council issued the "Fourteenth Five-Year Plan for the Development of Traditional Chinese Medicine", which proposed to expand the international trade of traditional Chinese medicine. We will vigorously develop trade in traditional Chinese medicine services and build a high-quality national export base of traditional Chinese medicine services. We will promote the overseas localization of traditional Chinese medicine and promote industrial cooperation and international trade. Encourage the development of "Internet plus+TCM trade". Gradually improve the relevant measures of "going out" of traditional Chinese medicine, carry out research on overseas market policies of traditional Chinese medicine, and help traditional Chinese medicine enterprises "go out".

The Development Plan for Promoting the High Quality Integration of Traditional Chinese Medicine into the Joint Construction of the the Belt and Road (2021-2025) issued at the beginning of this year proposed that during the "14th Five Year Plan" period, China will cooperate with the countries jointly constructing the "the Belt and Road" to build 30 overseas centers of high-quality traditional Chinese medicine.

Duodi is also making continuous efforts. Recently, Shaanxi Provincial Department of Commerce and Shaanxi Provincial Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine jointly held a symposium on "going out in groups" of traditional Chinese medicine services, which is intended to expand the market of traditional Chinese medicine service trade in Shaanxi through platform building, alliance building and cooperation promotion. It is reported that Shaanxi has built an exchange and cooperation platform for trade in traditional Chinese medicine services, jointly explored a new mode of trade in traditional Chinese medicine services under the "the Belt and Road Initiative", created a brand of traditional Chinese medicine services in Shaanxi, and comprehensively improved the influence, competitiveness and market share of international trade in traditional Chinese medicine in Shaanxi.

"In the future, we will actively promote the high-quality development of the international service trade of traditional Chinese medicine. We will establish an international scientific and technological collaborative innovation mechanism and a medical cooperation platform to provide high-quality traditional Chinese medicine service products. We will establish a talent dispatch and training mechanism to train international talents for the service trade of traditional Chinese medicine. The promotion of basic international standards of traditional Chinese medicine will consolidate the brand of the service trade of traditional Chinese medicine. We will promote academic exchanges and cooperation of traditional Chinese medicine and deepen the service trade of traditional Chinese medicine Promote, strengthen the construction of an international platform, and create a first-class international trade window of traditional Chinese medicine. " Li Kun, vice president of the Chinese Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, said.