China has progressed in its efforts to modernize traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) by the application of science and technology.

Information from a recent national exchange meeting on modernized TCM production bases held in Guiyang, capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province, said 448 standardized planting bases have been built in 18 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions where 933,333 hectares of medicinal herbs have been grown.

Up to now, the Ministry of Science and Technology has approved the establishment of 14 state-level modernized TCM production centers and eight standardized bases for growing medicinal herbs.

A great number of TCM enterprises have learned to solve technological problems in the process of TCM modernization via forging technical unions with scientific research organizations and universities of higher learning, which has led to an improvement in the innovative capabilities of the TCM enterprises.

Statistics from the State Intellectual Property Office of China showed there were 4,520 applications for patents in 2004. In the same year, the State Food and Drug Administration approved 203 kinds of new TCM products for sale.

Chinese scientists have successfully developed new TCM varieties for treating diseases such as AIDS, cancer and cardiovascular or cerebrovascular diseases.

So far, a least seven kinds of TCM products are being put into clinical research or in the United States with permits granted for clinical research by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the United States, said Wu Zhongze, Vice Minister of Science and Technology.

TCM-related businesses now contribute more to China's gross economy along with TCM modernization.

In 2003, China's TCM industrial sector had 81 billion yuan (about 9.76 billion US dollars) in total output value and accomplished 75.1 billion yuan (about 9.05 billion US dollars) in sales revenue.

(Xinhua News Agency June 4, 2005)