Ma Jianzhong, | of the Two Sessions of Traditional Chinese Medicine Policy: "Both internal and external cultivation" to enhance the internationalization level of traditional Chinese medicine

An epidemic has made the world understand the value of Chinese medicine and accelerated the pace of Chinese medicine to the world. At this year's two sessions, the topic of "how to seize the opportunity to enhance the internationalization level of traditional Chinese medicine" was deeply concerned by Ma Jianzhong, member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and chairman of the World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies.

"Chinese medicine is China's and the world's, and we must make great efforts to 'cultivate both inside and outside' to promote Chinese medicine to play a greater role in building a community of human health." Ma Jianzhong said.

Practice "internal skills" well

Unleash the diverse value of Chinese medicine

In recent years, the party and the state have attached great importance to the work of traditional Chinese medicine, especially General Secretary Xi Jinping has made a series of important expositions on the development of traditional Chinese medicine, profoundly answering a series of fundamental and long-term major questions such as "why develop traditional Chinese medicine, what kind of traditional Chinese medicine to develop and how to develop traditional Chinese medicine", and the development of traditional Chinese medicine has shown a thriving trend and achieved dazzling results.

"To see the results, but also to see the challenges." Ma Jianzhong said that it is necessary to soberly realize that the essence of the treasure house of traditional Chinese medicine is not excavated enough, the innovation power of traditional Chinese medicine is not strong, and the structure of the talent team is not optimal, the diversified value of traditional Chinese medicine as a health, science and technology, economy, culture, and ecological resources has not been fully explored, and the contribution of traditional Chinese medicine to the overall situation of the national economy is far from meeting the requirements of the new development pattern.

Ma Jianzhong believes that in order to improve the internationalization level of traditional Chinese medicine, we must first practice "internal skills", solve the key problems that restrict the development of traditional Chinese medicine, fully release the diversified value of traditional Chinese medicine, make efforts in key areas, and achieve breakthroughs in key work.

"Improving efficacy is the core key, and strengthening services is the fundamental guarantee." Ma Jianzhong said that the reason why Chinese medicine has been passed down for thousands of years is because of its important value as a health resource, and the reason why Chinese medicine can go global is also because of its effective efficacy, so the primary task of developing Chinese medicine is to improve the ability of Chinese medicine to maintain health. He suggested that we should build a traditional Chinese medicine service system that integrates prevention, treatment and rehabilitation, strengthen the construction of specialties with the advantages of traditional Chinese medicine, formulate special diagnosis and treatment strategies for traditional Chinese medicine such as chronic diseases, functional diseases, and pain, and introduce appropriate traditional Chinese medicine technologies to further improve the clinical diagnosis and treatment capabilities of traditional Chinese medicine.

"Innovation is the most important driver." Ma Jianzhong believes that through innovation, explaining and clarifying the efficacy of Traditional Chinese medicine will not only help the diagnosis and treatment of Traditional Chinese medicine to move towards more accurateness, but also lay a solid foundation for the international promotion of Traditional Chinese medicine.

At present, the scientific principles of acupuncture in traditional Chinese medicine, AIDS treatment, extraction and quality testing of active ingredients of traditional Chinese medicine, and the development of new products in traditional Chinese medicine have become the key areas of major innovations in international science and technology. According to statistics, SCI includes more than 8,500 TCM papers every year, which means that the innovation competitiveness of TCM is constantly increasing. Ma Jianzhong stressed that it is necessary to dig deep into the essence of traditional Chinese medicine with innovative ideas, improve the construction of the scientific and technological innovation system of traditional Chinese medicine, optimize the allocation of scientific and technological resources of traditional Chinese medicine, and support traditional Chinese medicine to make key breakthroughs in important areas such as epidemic prevention and control.

"Talent development is also a top priority." Ma Jianzhong said that the inheritance and innovation of traditional Chinese medicine relies on high-quality talents, and the international development of traditional Chinese medicine requires talents with comprehensive ability, so it is necessary to firmly establish the concept that talent is the first resource, strengthen the overall and systematic planning of the construction of the team of traditional Chinese medicine talents in the new period, pay more attention to increasing the intensity of active inheritance, inherit and develop the academic ideas and clinical experience of well-known old Chinese medicine experts, and actively cultivate interdisciplinary talents in traditional Chinese medicine and other disciplines to promote the diversification and high-quality development of traditional Chinese medicine.

Ma Jianzhong stressed that the development of traditional Chinese medicine should be integrated into the overall situation of domestic and international dual-cycle development, whether it is in accelerating the cultivation of a complete domestic demand system, accelerating scientific and technological self-reliance, promoting rural revitalization, promoting coordinated regional development, or improving the soft power of national culture, promoting harmonious coexistence between man and nature, and promoting a higher level of opening up, Chinese medicine must find its own position, give full play to its own advantages, and strive to become an important variable and endogenous driving force for building a new development pattern.

Proactive "diplomacy"

Let the world share the wisdom of Chinese medicine

At present, the "circle of friends" of Chinese medicine is getting bigger and bigger, and has spread to 196 countries and regions, and the number of people who have received acupuncture, tuina or qigong treatment of traditional Chinese medicine in the world has reached more than one-third of the world's total population. Especially in the face of the epidemic test, Chinese medicine has handed over an excellent anti-epidemic answer sheet, highlighting its unique wisdom and value concept.

"The general trend of the global fight against the epidemic is a good opportunity for Chinese medicine to go global." Ma Jianzhong said that it is necessary to seize the opportunity and take the initiative to "diplomacy" so that the people of the world have the opportunity to enjoy the benefits brought by the wisdom of traditional Chinese medicine. For example, in 2021, the World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies actively promoted the anti-epidemic experience of Traditional Chinese medicine to the world, held an "online special session on overseas Chinese medicine anti-epidemic experience exchange", relied on the China-France Chinese Medicine Center (Senna) platform to hold an "Online Sharing Meeting on Chinese Medicine Anti-epidemic", and repeatedly invited Chinese anti-epidemic experts to remotely consult overseas Chinese and overseas Chinese for COVID-19 patients, which are all important measures for active "diplomacy".

"Not only should we take the initiative to 'diplomacy,' but we must also deepen our 'diplomacy.'" Ma Jianzhong advocated continuing to make efforts in participating in global health governance, deepening cooperation among international organizations, deepening communication and cooperation with international organizations such as the World Health Organization and UNESCO, and strengthening exchanges and cooperation in international conferences, norms, guidelines and public welfare activities. At the same time, it also gives full play to the role of non-governmental organizations in international affairs, provides consulting services related to traditional Chinese medicine, and assists various localities in carrying out social work such as public health and medical health.

"Formulating international standards for traditional Chinese medicine is an important task in the internationalization of traditional Chinese medicine." Ma Jianzhong said that standards are the "common language" of international exchanges and cooperation in traditional Chinese medicine, and only by grasping the initiative of building international standards can we enhance the internationalization level of traditional Chinese medicine and expand the influence of traditional Chinese medicine.

At present, the World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies has formulated and issued more than 100 standards of various types of traditional Chinese medicine, including 70 standards of international organizations, involving basic terminology, talents, education, medical treatment, scientific research and other aspects. After the publication of the "International Standards for the Basic Terminology and Terminology of Traditional Chinese Medicine between China and The English", it has been signed by industry institutions in 95 countries. Ma Jianzhong said that the future goal of the World Union is to improve the construction of the expert database for the international standardization of traditional Chinese medicine, complete the informatization construction of the whole process of the standard revision of international organizations, and continuously enhance the influence and credibility of international standards of traditional Chinese medicine.

"It's time for Chinese medicine to go global." Ma Jianzhong said that at present, the international development of Traditional Chinese medicine is in a period of important strategic opportunities, and the concept of a community of human health is becoming more and more deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, so it is necessary to recognize the new requirements of the new era, carry forward the spirit of the Chinese medicine people's sincere and generous morality, vigorously enhance the internationalization level of Traditional Chinese medicine, and promote Chinese medicine to make greater contributions to the maintenance of human health.