Macao taps advantages to help TCM go global

Macao's unique advantage in Chinese medicine research and its close connection with the international market are helping traditional Chinese medicine go global, according to officials and industry insiders.

Ho Iat-seng, chief executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region, said that Macao is facilitating the global outreach of Chinese medicine products, because medicines recognized in Macao are more easily acknowledged in Portuguese-speaking countries due to "certain legal similarities".

With the objective of strengthening the TCM industry, and thereby reducing its dependence on the casino industry, the Macao SAR government established the Pharmaceutical Administration Bureau in 2022. The same year, it implemented a regulation on the registration of proprietary Chinese medicine products.