China ready to help integrate traditional medicines into global health system: vice-premier

BEIJING -- Chinese Vice-Premier Liu Guozhong said on Tuesday that China is ready to work with the rest of the world to integrate traditional medicines into the global health system.

Liu, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the comments at the 2024 World Conference on Traditional Medicine in Beijing.

Noting the unique role and great potential of traditional medicines in disease treatment and health improvement, Liu emphasized their importance as a key component of medical sciences worldwide.

Traditional Chinese Medicine was developed by the Chinese people over a period of thousands of years for use in daily life and to fight against diseases. It is characterized by its holistic approach and focuses on harmony, individuality, preventative treatment and simplicity.

Liu said that, in recent decades, China has worked to ensure modern and traditional medicines complement and advance together, adding that, in this process, the country has successfully blazed a path for the development of traditional medicines.

Liu put forward three proposals for integrating traditional medicines deeper into global health system. First, he called for self-reliance and self-confidence, and expanding the space for traditional medicines to grow and be applied more broadly. Second, he stressed the integration of modern and traditional medicines, while adhering to the principles of integrity and innovation. Third, he called for greater exchanges and cooperation among different forms of traditional medicine.

The 2024 World Conference on Traditional Medicine is being jointly held by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Chinese sponsors, including the National Health Commission.

The opening ceremony was attended by health officials of governments and international organizations, experts and scholars, and deputies from medical institutions. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus gave a speech via video.