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Frontiers of Medicine

ISSN 2095-0217

ISSN 2095-0225(Online)

CN 11-5983/R

Postal Subscription Code 80-967

2018 Impact Factor: 1.847

Front. Med.    2016, Vol. 10 Issue (3) : 360-376    https://doi.org/10.1007/s11684-016-0455-x
COMMENTARY
Barriers and countermeasures in developing traditional Chinese medicine in Europe
Yunfang Liu1,2,Zhiping Yang1,3,Jing Cheng2,*(),Daiming Fan1,3,*()
1. Project Department, Consultancy Program Center, Chinese Academy of Engineering, Beijing 100088, China
2. Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
3. Xijing Hospital of Digestive Diseases, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi’an 710032, China
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Abstract

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is one of the unique cultural treasures of Chinese; it represents a significant feature and prominent advantage of the healthcare cause in China. Data in this paper were from World Health Organization, Chinese Bureau of Statistics, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and PubMed. In recent years, TCM has established a solid foundation in Europe, which made great strides in legislation, education, research, and international exchange, and has enjoyed a vast development space in the continent. Now, TCM is embracing unprecedented development opportunities in Europe. At the same time, the stiff international competition poses a grave threat to China’s TCM industry. With multiple cultural, legal, and institutional challenges, as well as talent shortages in the way, TCM is now facing many difficulties in Europe. To fully prepare and enact active and vigorous steps to seize opportunities, we should have a clear picture about the serious challenges hampering TCM development in Europe. The TCM development at overseas markets has shifted from a spontaneous trade activity into a national strategy spearheaded by the government and participated in by multiple stakeholders. We should make a systematic, comprehensive, and sustainable push in fields such as TCM therapy, healthcare, education, research, culture, and industry development. The ultimate goal is to bring TCMs to the global market and allow them to play a role in safeguarding public health along with modern medicines.

Keywords traditional Chinese medicine      Europe      development     
Corresponding Author(s): Jing Cheng,Daiming Fan   
Just Accepted Date: 23 June 2016   Online First Date: 26 July 2016    Issue Date: 30 August 2016
 Cite this article:   
Yunfang Liu,Zhiping Yang,Jing Cheng, et al. Barriers and countermeasures in developing traditional Chinese medicine in Europe[J]. Front. Med., 2016, 10(3): 360-376.
 URL:  
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fmd/EN/10.1007/s11684-016-0455-x
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fmd/EN/Y2016/V10/I3/360
Fig.1  Policies and regulations in WHO Member States. (A) Acupuncture use by WHO Member States; (B) WHO Member States with established national policies on T&CM; (C) WHO Member States with established national regulations on herbal medicines; (D) WHO Member States with established regulations on T&CM practitioners.
Fig.2  Education and research in WHO Member States. (A) WHO Member States with T&CM education at university level; (B) WHO Member States with national research institutes regarding T&CM.
Fig.3  Difficulties encountered by WHO Member States related to the practices of T&CM.
Fig.4  Traditional use registration for traditional herbal medicinal products in Europe.
Fig.5  Export quantity and value of medical products in China.
Fig.6  Export quantity and value of prepared Chinese medicine in China.
Fig.7  Product structure of Chinese medicine export value in China during the first half of 2015.
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