BEIJING, Jan 18, (Xinhua): In the heart of Germany, a traditional Chinese herbal product has secured a lasting place on the shelves of the renowned Bahnhof-Apotheke pharmacy chain for over six years, with nearly 200,000 bottles of Shufeng Jiedu granules sold to date. Priced at 39.9 euros per bottle, this respiratory relief formula is among more than a dozen products from Anhui Jiren Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. in eastern China, exemplifying the global journey of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). This journey is no longer limited to classic remedies stored behind pharmacy counters.

Since last year, a “Four Seasons Tea” based on TCM principles has been offered not only in German pharmacies but also on the menu of a tea house in Hamburg, serving as a daily wellness supplement. “From treatment to wellness, we seek to integrate TCM’s health-preserving culture into the daily lives of Europeans,” said Zhu Qiang, deputy general manager of Anhui Jiren Pharmaceutical. Once regarded as an exotic alternative, TCM is now expanding its global presence and joining the worldwide conversation on health and lifestyle. To progress from cultural curiosity to global acceptance, TCM first had to tackle a fundamental challenge: making the “inexplicable” explicable.

The empirical nature of TCM, coupled with the complexity of herbal formulas, has long puzzled international regulators and scientists. For instance, the same herb may either promote or stanch blood flow, depending on its combination with other ingredients. The response has been a systematic drive toward standardization. China has facilitated the establishment of a technical committee under the International Organization for Standardization, which has so far issued over 100 international standards for TCM. Pioneering institutions have also played a key role. For example, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine has led the creation of the world’s first international educational standard for TCM undergraduate programs. On the corporate front, major Chinese pharmaceutical companies have diligently pursued international certifications.

Tianjin Pharmaceutical Da Ren Tang Group Co., Ltd. has obtained certifications recognized in Australia and Japan. As early as 1997, its product Suxiao Jiuxin Pills, a compound emergency medicine for heart attacks, was successfully registered as a prescription drug in Russia. Anhui Jiren Pharmaceutical entered the European market in 2018, and 193 of its TCM granule varieties have passed official German quality inspections and are available in the EU market. “We are exploring new approaches to bring more products to the global market, including strengthening ties with overseas research institutions to prove TCM’s efficacy with scientific evidence,” Zhu Qiang said. Data from China’s National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine showed that TCM is now practiced in 196 countries and regions.

China has also signed TCM cooperation agreements with over 40 foreign governments and international organizations. Beyond documentation, transformation is underway on factory floors and in research labs, where intelligent technology is decoding herbal wisdom and demonstrating its mechanisms through data. At the digitalized workshop in a Tianjin Pharmaceutical Da Ren Tang plant, Suxiao Jiuxin Pills roll off automated production lines. Each bottle carries a QR code that allows consumers to trace the medicine’s journey -- from the specific herb plantation to every step of processing, storage and quality control. “We use digital control to tackle the pain point of batch-to-batch variation in herbal products, ensuring both efficacy and stability,” explained Li Hongjiang, the plant’s production deputy general manager. The upcoming new generation intelligent workshop, with an investment exceeding 300 million yuan (about 43 million U.S. dollars), will use near-infrared spectroscopy and visual inspection systems to further enhance precision, Li added. Artificial intelligence (AI) is also scaling up TCM production.

In 2024, Tianjin-headquartered Tasly Pharma, in collaboration with Huawei Cloud, launched a TCM large language model. Trained on a massive corpus of classical texts and clinical data, it assists in formula optimization, mechanism explanation and the discovery of new clinical applications. Similarly, a large model was jointly developed last year by organizations including the National SuperComputer Center in Tianjin and Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, encompassing knowledge from over 20 TCM clinical disciplines. “AI can synthesize the vast empirical knowledge recorded in ancient TCM texts, thereby supporting the standardization of TCM practice,” said Guo Yi, vice president of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The ultimate test of TCM’s global integration lies not only in clinics but also in its seamless adoption into daily life. This is evident in the growing trend among young Chinese who are embracing TCM-inspired beverages, foods and physical exercises. Meanwhile, Chinese companies are also actively introducing TCM as a modern lifestyle choice worldwide.