Cheng Jing, an Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. Photo: VCG

Citing a lesson from the Iraq war in which the full embargo launched by the US seriously hurt ordinary people's lives in Iraq, a deputy to the National People's Congress suggests China formulate a scientific plan on its traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) development and encourage other disciplines, such as biological information technologies, artificial technologies, chemical and material sciences, to better integrate with TCM development to prevent a scenario where the country's medical field would be "chocked from the neck" one day.

"When the US launched a war against Iraq and ordered a full embargo, no plane from any country could fly in there. Although the US targeted the Iraqi military, it affected ordinary people, leaving many patients without life-saving medicine and medical equipment. This is a problem worthy of consideration and vigilance," said NPC deputy Cheng Jing, who is a renowned medical biophysicist from China's leading Tsinghua University and an Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. 

"In modern society, if we are faced with extreme lockdown, what can we give up? We might not have to use our cell phones, to drive, and to watch TV. But what if we suffer from a serious illness? I don't think we would give up saving life if we had a chance," Cheng said in an interview with the Global Times on Monday. 

Under extreme conditions, such as a large-scale war, or a trade war, if it had spread to the medical field, the Chinese medical system will face a great crisis, Cheng said.

Cheng explained that many drugs in China still rely on imports, and reagents could be used only with imported medical instruments and equipment. As they have a period of expiration, such medical supplies can't be bought in large quantities and stored for 10 or 20 years as strategic supplies. 

To nip in the bud, Cheng submitted a proposal to the ongoing two sessions. Cheng proposed that China should establish a national lab for development and to facilitate the integration of traditional Chinese medicine with Western medicine. The academician believes it is hard to promote the traditional Chinese medicine's development by only depending on the field's experts. 

"Other disciplines, such as biological information technologies, artificial technologies, chemical and material sciences should be utilized to promote its development," Cheng said.

For example, if we empower TCM diagnosis with AI technology, we can avoid a situation where a patient stands in front of 10 TCM doctors and gets 10 diagnoses, Cheng said, pointing out that if TCM cannot be digitized, it cannot be standardized and as a result, it cannot be internationalized.

According to Cheng, his team analyzed 125 TCM prescriptions for curing COVID-19 through genetic and bioinformatics technology, and then made evaluations on the prescriptions based on the experimental results on two groups of patients: one with poor immunity while the other with strong immunity. 

The results were later published in Nature Magazine, which Cheng said won enthusiastic response from many international experts as it provided them, especially those who had little knowledge of TCM, a better understanding of its contribution to the combat against COVID-19. 

Cheng noted that it will be a new way for the development of TCM so that it can be promoted to the whole world. Combined with technology, TCM diagnostic treatment will be greatly improved so that it can benefit more people.