[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Park Sun-mi] China is actively promoting Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in response to the spread of COVID-19.
On the 24th, Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported, citing data from the Hubei Provincial Health Commission, that as of mid-March, 91.91% of confirmed COVID-19 patients in Hubei Province received TCM treatment. It was revealed that more than 50,000 recovered COVID-19 patients had undergone TCM treatment, and TCM was applied to 94-99% of patients with relatively mild symptoms.
One of the well-known TCM medicines in China is "Shuanghuanglian" (雙黃連), which was highlighted as a treatment drug by major state media such as Xinhua News Agency and CCTV. Shuanghuanglian is a traditional Chinese medicine effective for fever, cough, and sore throat, mainly composed of honeysuckle flowers, Scutellaria baicalensis, and forsythia. Although many scientists remain skeptical about the efficacy and safety of TCM, the Chinese health authorities' active use of TCM in COVID-19 treatment is partly due to the government's strong encouragement to globalize TCM.
TCM also received support from Chinese health authorities during the outbreaks of the 2009 H1N1 influenza and the 2013 avian influenza (H7N9). During the COVID-19 outbreak, Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasized the need to mobilize both traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine to devise treatment plans while inspecting the COVID-19 prevention and control situation in Beijing. President Xi praised TCM, which forms a market worth $45 billion annually (approximately 53.5 trillion KRW) in China, as a "jewel of Chinese civilization."
China is including TCM in its COVID-19 response support to countries worldwide, making efforts to incorporate TCM, which has not been recognized by Western countries, into mainstream global medicine.
Recently, when the Chinese Red Cross sent medical teams to Italy, Iran, and Iraq, which were in crisis due to the COVID-19 spread, the emergency medical supplies included TCM-related medical products and research materials. Regarding this, Wei Yanhong, Deputy Director of the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, confirmed at a briefing the day before that "many countries, including Japan, South Korea, Italy, the United States, Iran, and Singapore, are sharing China's COVID-19 treatment experience," and "China has donated TCM and related equipment to 12 countries, including Italy and France." Last week, medical staff in Wuhan, Hubei Province, actively promoted the effectiveness of TCM in COVID-19 treatment, including prescriptions, moxibustion, and acupuncture, while sharing treatment experiences with U.S. medical personnel.
The World Health Organization (WHO), known to receive substantial support from China, has also joined in promoting China's TCM. Initially, WHO's website advised COVID-19 patients to "avoid taking traditional herbal remedies," but this statement was removed earlier this month.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
