Hong Kong unveils its first blueprint to develop Chinese medicine sector
Health minister says plan underpins city’s contribution to national strategy of bringing healing powers of Chinese medicine to the world
Hong Kong has unveiled its first blueprint to help Chinese medicine go global by leveraging the city’s strengths to set international standards for the medicinal products and raise professional competence.
In the “Chinese Medicine Development Blueprint” unveiled on Thursday, health authorities also pledged to amend the Chinese Medicine Ordinance to close “grey areas” that allowed products to bypass safety checks – part of the five key areas and eight goals outlined in the plan.
“Building upon a 5,000-year heritage, Chinese medicine has a substantial discourse power in the field of traditional medicine, and it can be used to help people in other countries,” he said.
“We should leverage the strengths of Hong Kong in healthcare quality, reputation and internationalisation … our service model, which incorporates both Chinese and Western medicine, and our standards on Chinese medicine [products], will make Hong Kong a bridgehead for Chinese medicine to go global.”
The blueprint aligns with Beijing’s national plan, which identified Chinese medicine as strategically important in 2016, and seeks to integrate it into the modern national healthcare system as an “equal” partner to Western medicine and develop international standards to help global trade.