(2022 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) • Hong Kong and Macao) Guangdong-Macao cooperation enhances the influence of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Portuguese-speaking regions

Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, September 3 (Reporters Wang Yuyuan, Wei Mengjia, Gong Zhe) At the "Health and Hygiene Services" themed exhibition of the 2022 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS), the Guangdong-Macao Traditional Chinese Medicine Science and Technology Industrial Park, jointly developed by the Guangdong Provincial Government and the Macao Special Administrative Region Government, made a stunning appearance.

In recent years, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has achieved rapid development in innovation and research and international promotion. Reporters learned that the Guangdong-Macao Traditional Chinese Medicine Science and Technology Industrial Park has carried out a series of activities targeting the exchange of TCM technology and product trade between China and Portuguese-speaking countries, effectively enhancing the influence of TCM in Portuguese-speaking regions.

In 2011, the Guangdong-Macao Traditional Chinese Medicine Science and Technology Industrial Park was officially launched in Hengqin as the first project to implement the "Framework Agreement on Guangdong-Macao Cooperation." Benefiting from Macao's unique geographical advantages and Guangdong's innovative research and development foundation, the Industrial Park has built a TCM science and technology innovation service platform in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, promoting the integration of production, education, and research; the "medicine-leading-medicine" model promotes the internationalization of TCM and supports the Belt and Road Initiative; and promotes the transformation and application of scientific and technological achievements and products to develop the greater health industry.

In terms of international promotion, the Industrial Park has vigorously promoted the construction of TCM exchange bases, international education and training, and overseas product registration public services, making positive contributions to promoting exchanges and mutual understanding of traditional medicine between China and Portuguese-speaking countries and expanding the market for TCM enterprises in Portuguese-speaking countries.

In 2018, leveraging Macao's role as a window to Portuguese-speaking countries, the Industrial Park established the "International Young TCM Doctors Exchange Base" to provide a platform for communication and learning for young people at home and abroad. To date, the base has conducted more than 30 training programs in TCM, TCM foreign language, exchange salons, and overseas practice, and has carried out exchanges and cooperation with ten TCM universities in countries and regions such as Portugal, Mozambique, and Cape Verde.

In recent years, TCM has demonstrated unique advantages in global epidemic prevention and control, attracting significant attention from the international community. In August this year, the International Young TCM Doctors Exchange Base launched the "Little Silver Needle TCM Classroom," inviting TCM experts who have repeatedly rushed to the front lines of the fight against the epidemic to share their experience in the prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation of COVID-19 using TCM, attracting widespread participation and interaction from young TCM practitioners.

At the same time, the Industrial Park is expanding the TCM market in Portuguese-speaking countries through international education and training. Using Macao as a window and Mozambique as a pilot, the Industrial Park has innovated the "medicine-leading-medicine" international promotion model and replicated and promoted it in Cape Verde and surrounding countries. To date, the Industrial Park has jointly held 17 TCM-themed training and study programs for Portuguese-speaking countries, with officials, technicians, public hospital doctors, and physiotherapists from the health and traditional medicine sectors of Portuguese-speaking countries participating in the learning.

Wang Dan, manager of the Industrial Park's International Exchange and Cooperation Center, said that based on research and visits to Portuguese-speaking countries such as Mozambique and Cape Verde, the Industrial Park has cooperated with local health departments to conduct training on TCM characteristic therapies. After initial training in non-invasive therapies such as Tuina massage, cupping, and moxibustion, basic acupuncture courses have been gradually added. Among them, local public hospital doctors, physiotherapists, and pharmacists trained in Mozambique have provided TCM treatment to more than 30,000 Mozambican patients, with positive clinical feedback.

In addition, the Guangdong-Macao Traditional Chinese Medicine Science and Technology Industrial Park uses Portuguese-speaking countries as a starting point to provide services for the international registration and trade of TCM products. Through trade matchmaking meetings and intergovernmental cooperation, the Industrial Park has obtained registration certificates for nine TCM products in Mozambique. In the Brazilian market, the Industrial Park has also helped seven domestic TCM products obtain registration and listing permits for Chinese patent medicines.

In March this year, the General Office of the State Council issued the "14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of Traditional Chinese Medicine," which points out the need to promote the modernization and industrialization of TCM and promote the high-quality development and global reach of TCM. In the TCM exhibition area of CIFTIS, themed "Developing Traditional Medicine and Promoting a Community of Shared Health for Mankind," TCM industrial parks represented by the Guangdong-Macao Traditional Chinese Medicine Science and Technology Industrial Park are continuously cultivating their own advantages and making positive contributions to promoting TCM on the international stage. (End)

From Xinhua News Agency