Li Xueyong, vice-minister of science and technology, said traditional Chinese medicine had become more and more recognized by the international community.

He made the remark while addressing the International Conference on the Modernization of Traditional Chinese Medicine that opened Sunday in this capital city of southwest China's Sichuan province.

Among those dignitaries present at the conference were more than 4,000 health officials and scientists from the World Health Organization (WHO), the United States and 24 countries and regions as well as CEOs from the world's leading drug manufacturers.

The core of the relevant strategy, Li said, was to modernize traditional medicine by adopting modern technologies such as information technology and biological technology.

Li briefed the conference, jointly sponsored by his ministry, the Ministry of Health, the State Drug Administration, the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, on recent developments in the industry. The Chinese-made traditional medicine was now being exported to over 130 countries and regions, he added.

To ensure the quality and safety of those medicinal products, he noted, China would speed up the adoption of a scientific and internationally-recognized standards for traditional medicine.

Moreover, he disclosed that colleges, universities and pharmaceutical firms would join research and development efforts on new uses for traditional Chinese medicine.

Li also said that China was paying close attention to environmental and resource protection to ensure the sustainable development of medicinal resources.

(Xinhua News Agency November 4, 2002)