Eight Departments: A preliminary formation of a collaborative system across the entire traditional Chinese medicine industry chain by 2030

Securities Times Reporter Han Zhongnan

On February 5, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, the State Administration of Financial Supervision, and six other departments jointly issued the “Implementation Plan for High-Quality Development of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Industry (2026–2030)” (hereinafter referred to as the “Plan”). The Plan clarifies development goals, key tasks, and safeguard measures for the next five years, promoting comprehensive upgrades across the entire traditional Chinese medicine industry chain.

The Plan sets clear core development objectives by 2030 and outlines the path for high-quality development of the traditional Chinese medicine industry. By then, a preliminary system for coordinated development across the entire industry chain will be established, with continuous enhancement of key raw material supply capabilities and significant improvements in digital intelligence and green practices.

Specifically, by 2030, 60 high-standard raw material production bases will be cultivated, five traditional Chinese medicine industrial innovation centers will be built, a batch of innovative Chinese medicine drugs will be approved for market launch, 10 major traditional Chinese medicine formulas will be newly developed, 10 industry standards related to digital intelligence technology in the industry will be drafted or revised, 20 typical cases of digital transformation will be released, and 20 smart factories and 10 green factories will be constructed.

To ensure the achievement of these goals, the Plan deploys six major重点行动 (key actions) and 15具体任务 (specific tasks), focusing on precise efforts across all links of the产业链 (industry chain). In raw material保障 (security), it implements actions to improve quality and stabilize supply, guiding leading enterprises to establish high-standard raw material bases in main production areas, supporting the construction of primary processing factories at origin, promoting automation lines and “shared workshops,” and accelerating the drafting or revision of quality standards for medicinal materials, as well as researching珍稀中药材资源保护与替代品 (rare medicinal resource protection and substitutes).

Innovation is the core动力 (driving force) for产业升级 (industry upgrading). The Plan proposes implementing collaborative innovation攻关行动 (key breakthrough actions), integrating resources from enterprises, universities, and research institutions, establishing traditional Chinese medicine industrial innovation centers, and creating合作模式 (collaborative models) involving “famous doctors, renowned hospitals, top universities, and leading enterprises.” It also encourages applying artificial intelligence, big data, and other technologies to empower新药研发 (new drug research and development),突破 (break through) key technical bottlenecks such as efficacy component identification and formula optimization, and promotes创新改良 (innovative improvements) of already marketed formulas, transforming traditional Chinese medicine preparations in medical institutions into innovative drugs, thereby cultivating new产业生产力 (industry productivity).

In manufacturing capacity提升 (enhancement), the Plan emphasizes推动集约化生产 (promoting intensive production) of Chinese medicine decoctions,完善质量标准体系 (improving the quality standard system), and accelerating digital and绿色转型 (green transformation) of manufacturing processes. It aims to optimize全流程质量追溯体系 (full-process quality traceability system), ensuring traceability of sources, process监控 (monitoring), and可查证的去向 (verifiable destinations). For民族药发展 (ethnic medicine development), it implements振兴行动 (revitalization actions), leveraging民族药资源优势 (ethnic medicine resource advantages),完善质量控制体系 (improving quality control systems), promoting民族药产业现代化转型 (modernization of ethnic medicine industry), and培育民族药名品 (cultivating renowned ethnic medicine brands).

Additionally, the Plan includes推广行动 (promotion actions) for名品 (famous products) and培育卓越企业 (cultivating outstanding enterprises), strengthening品牌保护 (brand protection), developing优势单品 (advantageous single products) of formulas and decoctions, promoting跨界融合 (cross-sector integration) of “Chinese medicine+” products, and expanding大健康产业 (big health industry). It also advocates梯度培育领航企业 (gradual cultivation of leading enterprises) and优质中小企业 (high-quality small and medium-sized enterprises), supporting companies to expand into international markets, participate in the formulation and revision of international standards for Chinese medicine, and enhance the international influence of Chinese medicine brands.

(Edited by: Wang Zhiqiang HF013)