China has found great scope for expanding medical cooperation with
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states as
traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) gains greater global
recognition.
The Yunnan Baiyao, a famous medicine used for reactivating blood
circulation and alleviating pain, has been registered for sale in
Thailand.
An
enterprise affiliated to the Yunnan Medical Group is negotiating
with its counterpart in Viet Nam to enter the market there.
Long Jiang, general manager of the Yunnan Medical Group, attributed
bigger sales of Chinese medicine in Southeast Asia to the
legalization of TCM in ASEAN and a better environment for its
export.
Thai medical authorities approved the treatment of diseases with
TCM and therapy in a regulation issued in June 2000 and consented
to the legal import of Chinese medicine.
Sales of TCM in Indonesia average US$11 million annually. The per
capita consumption of TCM in Viet Nam has increased tenfold during
the past decade.
Australia was the first Western country to legalize TCM. The
European Union has drafted a code on the management of herbal
medicine, and Canada has brought the import of TCM in line with its
overall import system on herbal medicine.
Meanwhile, China's Ministry
of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation issued standards in
2001 on the import and export of plants for medical use and
preparation, which approach internationally acknowledged export
standards. This has won recognition from a growing number of
countries.
China exported US$483 million worth of TCM in the first three
quarters of last year, up by 21.9 percent over the same period in
2001. China's exports to ASEAN totaled US$55.3 million in the first
half of last year, the majority of which was TCM.
Long said much room exists for cooperation between Chinese medical
firms and ASEAN in terms of medicine development, production and
trade.
(Xinhua News Agency February 12, 2003)