TCM builds momentum worldwide

Practice reaches 196 countries and regions as expansion accelerates

Traditional Chinese medicine has spread to 196 countries and regions across the world, and more than 100 types of TCM drugs have obtained registration in countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, with the market size estimated to exceed 4.8 trillion yuan ($669.7 billion) this year, China's health minister said on Monday.

Lei Haichao, minister of the National Health Commission, said that acupuncture is now recognized in 113 member states of the World Health Organization. Also, a TCM technology committee under the International Organization for Standardization, or ISO, has issued 119 TCM-related standards.

Lei made the statements in a signed article that called for strengthening efforts to ensure that TCM can better benefit people around the world. It was released by Study Times, a newspaper administered by the Party School of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.