Eight Departments: By 2030, a preliminary collaborative system for the entire traditional Chinese medicine industry chain will be established.

Securities Times reporter Han Zhongnan

On February 5, eight departments including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, the Financial Regulatory Administration, and others jointly issued the Implementation Plan for the High-Quality Development of the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Industry (2026—2030) (hereinafter referred to as the “Plan”). The Plan sets out the development goals, key tasks, and supporting measures for the TCM industry over the next five years, and will promote coordinated upgrading across the entire TCM industrial chain in a comprehensive way.

The Plan clarifies the core development goals for 2030 and outlines the path for high-quality development of the TCM industry. By then, a coordinated development system for the TCM industrial chain will have taken shape in its early form. The capacity to supply key TCM raw materials will continue to grow, and the levels of digital-intelligent transformation and green development will be significantly improved.

Specifically, by 2030, 60 high-standard TCM raw-material production bases will be cultivated, 5 TCM industry “keeping-their-heritage-and-innovation” centers will be built, a number of innovative TCM drugs will be promoted to be approved for listing, 10 new “major single products” of patent medicines (TCM finished medicines) will be newly cultivated, 10 industry standards related to digital-intelligent technologies in the TCM industry will be formulated or revised, 20 typical cases of digital-intelligent transformation and upgrading will be released, 20 smart factories will be built, and 10 green factories will be cultivated.

To ensure these goals are implemented, the Plan deploys six major key actions and 15 specific tasks, focusing on precise efforts across every link of the industrial chain. In terms of raw-material assurance, it will implement an action to improve raw-material quality and ensure stable supply. It will guide leading enterprises to build high-standard TCM raw-material production bases in the main producing areas, support the building of primary processing factories at the production sites, and promote automated production lines and “shared workshops.” At the same time, it will accelerate the formulation or revision of quality standards for Chinese medicinal materials, and carry out research on the protection of resources of rare TCM medicinal materials and their substitutes.

Innovation is the core driving force behind industrial upgrading. The Plan proposes implementing a coordinated innovation and tackling key technical problems action. It will integrate innovation resources such as enterprises, universities, and research institutions, build TCM industry “keeping-their-heritage-and-innovation” centers, and create a collaboration model of “renowned doctors, renowned hospitals, renowned universities, and renowned enterprises.” Meanwhile, it will use technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data to empower R&D of new TCM drugs, break through technical bottlenecks such as efficacy-component identification and prescription optimization, encourage innovation-improved revisions of already listed patent medicines, promote the transformation of TCM preparations in medical institutions into innovative drugs, and cultivate new quality productive forces for the industry.

In improving manufacturing capability, the Plan makes it clear that it will promote intensive and large-scale production of TCM decoction pieces, and improve the quality standards system. At the same time, it will speed up the digital-intelligent and green transformation of TCM manufacturing, optimize the whole-process quality traceability system, and achieve traceable sources of TCM products, monitorable processes, and verifiable destinations. Regarding the development of ethnic medicines, it will implement an action to revitalize the ethnic medicines industry. It will leverage advantages in ethnic-medicine resources, improve the quality control system, promote the modernization and transformation of the ethnic medicines industry, and cultivate famous and high-quality ethnic-medicine products.

In addition, the Plan also deploys actions for promoting famous TCM products and cultivating outstanding enterprises. By strengthening brand protection and cultivating advantaged “single products” in patent medicines and decoction pieces, it will promote cross-industry integration of “TCM +,” and develop health products across the whole life cycle. It will cultivate leading enterprises and high-quality small and medium-sized enterprises in a stepwise manner, support enterprises in exploring international markets, participate in the formulation or revision of international standards for TCM, and enhance the international influence of TCM brands.

(Editor-in-charge: Wang Zhiqiang HF013)

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