A number of China's top legislators and top advisory body members on Monday called for laws and regulations that would help enhance the domestic and international use of Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).
Ma Xingtian, NPC deputy from Guangdong Province, who is also a CEO of a TCM manufacturer and Zhang Boli, NPC deputy representing the Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, said laws regulating TCM need to be fast tracked, according to Nanfang Daily.
The draft of a law governing traditional Chinese medicine and medication has been put on this year's lawmaking agenda and will wait for the State Council to provide a draft that will be assessed by the National People's Congress.
"Making a law on traditional Chinese medicine will help regulate the market," Wang Jian, deputy director of TCM center for AIDS prevention and treatment, told the Global Times.
Wang said a law is urgently needed as many people involved in the TCM trade commit fraud and cheat patients.
Legitimate TCM practitioners and manufacturers are hoping to see TCM enter international markets but without a law that establishes the legitimacy of TCM, they lack credibility.
TCM has also suffered from the mysterious nature of some of its ingredients, which are not always clearly labeled. One well-known TCM name, Yunnan Baiyao, which is used to treat external injuries, was alleged to be made of "undeclared" poisonous ingredients in some batches of the product that were ordered off shop shelves in Hong Kong.
Zhang said China is behind 54 other countries, such as South Korea and India, which have passed laws to legitimize traditional medicine and its practices. Australia and Canada also have laws regulating TCM.
"TCM suffers a negative image because of people who are not real TCM practitioners. That's why the country needs to regulate the market. TCM has great resources and provides good effect on some diseases but it needs more scientific proof to support its curative properties, which the Western medical system has done very well," Wang said.
Wang suggested TCM researchers adopt Western medical research practices if TCM practitioners hope to gain more acceptance on the international market.
TCM and its treatments were written into the country's 12th Five-Year Plan for its health development, according to a document released by the State Council in October 2012.
The plan said that TCM will be made available through the country's medical welfare system and the training of TCM practitioners will be strengthened. It also calls on action to legalize and standardize TCM to help it enter international markets.