Traditional Chinese medicine is China’s latest ‘soft power’ weapon
Time-honoured therapy readily associated with nation’s identity by people overseas, health official says
Traditional Chinese medicine is readily identified with China by people overseas, an official said yesterday, opening a possible new avenue for the nation to project soft power around the globe.
Wang Guoqiang, deputy chief of the National Health and Family Planning Commission, attributed traditional medicine’s high recognition to the authority’s attention to its development and the increasing recognition of its value by the international community. Wang said traditional Chinese medicine centres set up overseas were very popular, as he witnessed during a recent visit to the Czech Republic.
“I’ve been to some countries and many state leaders mentioned they wished to import TCM to their own country. Their awareness and recognition of TCM is continuously rising,” Wang told reporters at a briefing on Tuesday morning.
Wang said traditional Chinese medicine centres set up overseas were very popular, as he witnessed during a recent visit to the Czech Republic.
In recent years, traditional medicine has received a strong boost from the central government, which sees it as an affordable complement to more costly conventional healthcare.