China's medical tech shines at CIFTS

With the nation's major strategic achievements in fighting COVID-19, Chinese experience and wisdom has garnered a high reputation and proved popular at the 2020 China International Fair for Trade in Services.

Held in Beijing, the fair, which ended on Wednesday, is one of the world's largest and most comprehensive fairs for trade in services and attracted 18,000 enterprises and institutions from 148 countries and regions.

Kang Jianrong, who is in his 40s, was very busy introducing and answering questions about a robotic blood sampling machine at the trade fair.

As a key member of the machine's research and development team, Kang has seen the enormous potential of the machine in helping to reduce the risk of infection among medics.

With the assistance of artificial intelligence technologies, it can automatically complete the whole process of taking blood samples, even including disinfecting and applying a Band-Aid to the venipuncture site, according to Kang.

During the COVID-19 epidemic, the machine was employed by some hospitals to help nurses more efficiently check information and find the ideal spot from which to draw the blood, as well as avoid the risk of cross-infection caused by needle-puncture wounds, Kang says.

The company has set its sights on exploring a wider international platform for its machine, targeting the European and African markets to help in the fight against COVID-19.

He is confident in the development of science and technology in China. "There are still disparities in the level of development between China and the world's leading countries, but we have seen the brilliant prospects (of the domestic sector)," he says.

Nucleic acid tests are equally important to blood tests in combating the novel coronavirus since swab tests can only indicate current infection.

A printer-size machine designed for nucleic acid testing was another highlight at the trade fair.

With four separated grids, the machine can test different samples of throat swabs individually, cutting the time for outputting results to 30 minutes.

Emergency department, fever clinics in hospitals, centers for disease control and prevention, as well as customs offices and airports have a high demand for such machines, according to Kou Yi, CEO assistant of the machine's production company, Coyote Bioscience Co.

Not only a domestically sought-after item, the machine has also been sold abroad, even exported to Britain.

Apart from technology, traditional Chinese medicine also played a part in the fight against COVID-19 and drew a lot of attention at the trade fair.

Lianhua Qingwen is widely-used course of TCM, used for the treatment of COVID-19.

The Lianhua Qingwen capsules have recently received a drug registration certificate granted by Kuwaiti authorities to treat mild and moderate cases of COVID-19, according to Zhang Yunling, executive deputy general manager of Shijiazhuang Yiling Pharmaceutical Co.

She adds that the permit has given the drug a market entry into Kuwait, giving the company a foothold from which to further explore opportunities in the Middle East market.

TCM has shown its unique advantage in reducing the fatality rate and improving the recovery rate, says Wang Qi, an academician with the Chinese Academy of Engineering.