China will soon launch its fourth national survey on Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) resources to secure the industry's sustainable development, according to a senior health official.
            
            
                YANTAI, Shandong - China will soon launch its fourth national survey  on Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) resources to secure the industry's  sustainable development, according to a senior health official.
The preparatory work has been completed and a pilot program for the  survey will commence soon, covering six provinces and regions, including  Anhui, Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, Xinjiang and Yunnan, said Wang Guoqiang,  vice minister of health.
Wang, also director of the State Administration of TCM, made the  remarks Sunday at the annual gathering for the country's pharmaceutical  professionals.
The last survey on this subject, conducted between 1983 and 1987,  indicated that the country had over 12,000 types of TCM resources with  the majority in the wild.
Experts predict that it is very likely that has changed after more than two decades.
"A new survey is crucial in drawing major plans for TCM resources'  management, protection and utilization," said Prof. Huang Luqi, vice  president of the China Academy of Chinese Medical Science.
It may also help to build a dynamic assessment system for those precious resources, Huang added.
TCM generally refers to the comprehensive Chinese medical system based upon the body's balance and harmony.
Among the components of TCM are traditional herbal drugs and inherent  therapies, including acupuncture, physical exercise, and remedial  massage.
Official figures showed that the TCM industry posted a strong  performance in 2010, with the output value up 29.5 percent year-on-year  to reach 317.2 billion yuan ($50 billion), which exceeded that of the  country's entire pharmaceutical industry.
In addition, experts have forecasted that TCM's annual output value in China will exceed one trillion yuan by 2015.
Overseas markets, however, have only granted limited recognition to  TCM, partly due to Chinese pharmaceutical enterprises' failure to obtain  accreditations from markets such as the European Union, where TCM is  generally categorized as a "food supplement."
Some producers complain that TCM's clinical efficacy and the chemical  composition of the drugs can hardly be explained in scientific terms.
To curb these difficulties for market access, Chinese regulators have  invested heavily in TCM's R&D projects and called for innovation in  building clinical R&D systems, setting up key TCM labs,  facilitating technology transfers into the industry and improving  R&D management and quality control.
Promoting TCM is not only a solution to help China achieve universal  health care at less expense, but also an indicator of the country's soft  power and influence abroad, Wang said.