Traditional Chinese Medicine to play bigger role in healthcare reform - official
23-Nov-14, Xinhua
A health official said that Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) will take a bigger role in medical reform as TCM has advantage in prevention and health care.
TCM and western medicine complement each other, which is an important trait of China's health service system, said Wang Guoqiang, head of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, at the first TCM Science Conference on Sunday.
China has more than 200 million senior citizens above 60, posting great challenges to the country's health sector.
In 2013, the total value of TCM out-put exceeded 560 billion yuan ( 91.4 billion U.S. dollars), one third of the total value of China's medicine industry. Although TCM is greeting new opportunities, it still faces many restrictions.