Tracing system could give TCM a boost

National legislators and political advisers have called for the establishment of a unified tracing system for traditional Chinese medicine, saying such a system will help enhance quality and facilitate internationalization.

The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games produced many unforgettable scenes. One of the most impressive away from the competition venues was a traditional Chinese medicine clinic that provided acupuncture therapy to relieve athletes' muscle pains.

A Swiss ice hockey player, for example, became a fan of traditional Chinese medicine during her stay in Beijing. In a handwritten letter she left to doctors at the clinic, she said: "After acupuncture and tai chi, I always felt great. It felt like energy was flowing through my entire body; I felt energized and more vital, calm and relaxed."

Some athletes also left thank-you notes to doctors after they were treated with acupuncture.

As a professor at Gansu University of Chinese Medicine, Guo Mei is keenly aware of the popularity of acupuncture among foreigners.

Acupuncture works as an effective and convenient means to help spread traditional Chinese medicine as "it can make people feel comfortable immediately", she said.

A deputy to the National People's Congress from Gansu province, Guo said that despite the increasing international recognition of acupuncture and cupping therapy, it remains challenging to promote traditional Chinese medicine abroad because it's not easy to explain why different herbs are needed in a prescription.

A lot of work still needs to be done, but the establishment of a national tracing system for traditional Chinese medicine will help further promote the medicine around the globe.

"If you want to export traditional Chinese medicine, the quality is a top priority," she said, adding that reliable quality will make it easier for TCM products to be accepted.

A viable solution to boost quality would be to set up a system that could trace herb planting and medicine production, including place of origin, seed or seedling information, harvest time and the age of herbs, she said. With the system, people could get all the information about the medicine they needed simply by scanning a QR code.

Guo said such a system could also play a role in improving therapeutic effects.

Herbs of different ages have different effects. The age information is important for doctors because it will help them decide how much of a herb should be used in a prescription, she said.

She said some government bodies and different regions have already done a lot of work in building tracing systems for traditional Chinese medicines within their jurisdictions.

However, the systems are not connected and also comply with different standards, she said. Some of them are regional ones that only cover a limited range of herbs and products.

Considering that the work involves multiple government bodies, including the ministries of commerce, and agriculture and rural affairs, as well as National Medical Products Administration, Guo said she suggested the central government designate one department to head the work.

The internationalization of traditional Chinese medicine is also a concern of national political adviser Ma Zhongming, president of the Gansu Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

Stressing the importance of herb quality, he called for intensified efforts to establish a sound and standard seedling and seed selection system for the herb industry.