Academic exchanges on 18 special subjects are expected to be held between Monday and Tuesday in six branch conference halls together with six satellite conferences, during which over 1,000 theses will be under discussion, according to the China Daily.

Vice-Premier Li Lanqing sent a congratulatory letter to the congress, hoping it would further promote the development of integrative medicines, as well as enhance cooperation in the field between Chinese medical science circles and their foreign counterparts.

Li said that the Chinese Government has long attached great importance to the development of traditional Chinese medicine with the strategy of giving equal emphasis to Chinese and Western medicines.

Vice-Minister of Health She Jing said that over the past five years, following the First World Integrative Medicine Congress which had drawn world-wide attention to this regard, China has scored lasting achievements in the integrative medicines.

A wide array of medical achievements have been made. For example, integrative medicine has been used to cure white blood corpuscle deficiency, hepatitis, cardiovascular disease, burns and fractures.

(Xinhua News Agency September 23, 2002)