Paul M. Vanhoutte, president of the International Union of Pharmacology, said Monday in Chengdu that he was interested in the potential of traditional Chinese medicine and would like to introduce more of it to other countries.
Vanhoutte made the remarks at the International Conference on the Modernization of Traditional Chinese Medicine that opened Sunday in this capital city of Sichuan Province, southwest China.
Vanhoutte said the development of traditional Chinese medicine has been curbed by problems such as a difficult pharmacological process, complicated usage and distinct tastes.
As Western medicine development has a long history, the professor suggested that China should not focus only on the short-term profit when promoting its traditional medicine.
He supported China's strategy of modernizing traditional medicine by adopting modern technologies such as information technology and biological technology.
He pointed to the importance of setting up a standard for traditional Chinese medicine to be recognized by the international community, and suggested China protect the patent of its traditional medicine for further development.
Other dignitaries present at the conference include more than 4,000 health officials and scientists from the World Health Organization (WHO) and 24 countries and regions, as well as CEOs from the world's leading drug manufacturers.
(People's Daily November 5, 2002)
