Opening Ceremony of the “2018 Traditional Medicine International Cooperation Forum (Macao, China)”
The “2018 Traditional Medicine International Cooperation Forum (Macao, China)”, jointly organized by the Macao Special Administrative Region Government and the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and coordinated by the Traditional Chinese Medicine Science and Technology Industrial Park of Cooperation between Guangdong and Macao (hereinafter referred to as the “GMTCM Park”), was held on 20 September at the Venetian Hotel Macao. As an annual international exchange event, organized by the GMTCM Park, the Forum has been successfully held for the fourth consecutive year, having established itself in building a brand name within the industry and forging strategic international partnerships towards becoming a very important bridge for exchange and cooperation between the local and overseas industries.
Guests gathered from around the world to participate the event
The honoured guests present at the opening ceremony of the Forum comprised Chief Executive of the Government of Macao Special Administrative Region, Mr. Chui Sai On, the Director-General of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macao SAR, Mr Zheng Xiaosong, the Deputy Commissioner of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in the Macao Special Administrative Region, Mr. Wang Dong, the Secretary for Economy and Finance of the Government of Macao SAR, Mr Leong Vai Tac, the Director of the Department of Science and Technology, State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Mr Li Yu, the representative from the Advisory Expert Committee of the GMTCM Park, President of the China Association for Supervision and Control of Pharmaceuticals, former Director of State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Mr Shao Mingli and the former Director-General of the China Food and Drug Administration and former Chairman of the TCM Working Party of the European Pharmacopoeia and Chairman of the Phytochemistry Group of the German Pharmacopoeia (DAB) Mr Gerhard Franz.
In his opening speech, by the Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr. Leong Vai Tac, pointed out that as one of the emerging industries to promote Macao’s adequate economic diversification, the Macao SAR Government has assigned special importance to the traditional Chinese medicine industry, in terms of its industrialization and internationalization. In particular, the support from the Central Government’s to support Macao in the building of platforms for the development of the traditional Chinese medicine science and technology industry, as set-out at the plenary meeting of the Leading Group for the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, will certainly provide strong support and encouragement for Macao towards the development of the traditional Chinese medicine industry. Featuring new development opportunities with a new pattern of regional cooperation, Macao will bring into full play and capacity, its advantageous role as a link connecting Mainland China, the Portuguese-speaking countries, the European Union, and the ASEAN countries, to assist quality enterprises and products from Mainland China and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in entering markets in Portuguese-speaking countries, the EU, and countries along the Belt and Road as well as to promote an overall sustainable development for Macao, while integrating itself into the national development.
On behalf of the Director-General of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Mr Li Yu Medicine, the Director of the Department of Science and Technology, State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Mr. Li Yu, delivered a speech, citing that the Chinese government attaches great importance to TCM development and has launched an array of strategic measures for its inheritance and development. In the future, the traditional Chinese medicine is expected to play a more important role in preventive treatment of diseases, treatment of critical diseases, and rehabilitation from diseases, with both the traditional Chinese medical sciences and traditional Chinese medicines advancing to a new stage of high-quality development. The TCM development in Macao has long received global attention and played an active role in the health system. The delivery of this Forum is of great significance as it promotes Macao’s moderate adequate economic diversification and supports the GMTCM Park in strengthening cooperation with the ASEAN, the EU, and Portuguese-speaking countries in the TCM industry. He believes that with the firm support from the Central Government and the Macao SAR Government, it will offer broader space for TCM development in Macao and yield more fruitful results.
The representative of the Advisory Expert Committee, Chairman of the Phytochemistry Group of the German Pharmacopoeia (DAB), Mr Gerhard Franz, pointed out in his speech, as an expert at herbal medicines from the EU, he was delighted to see Macao’s determination and strengths in developing the traditional medicine industry and promoting the internationalization of traditional medicine. He acknowledged the efforts made by the GMTCM Park over the past few years to promote traditional medicine in the international market. He expected that the Industrial Park would bring together more favourable resources and leverage its role as a platform to push forward exchange and cooperation on traditional medicine between the EU and China. He also expressed willingness to provide advice and suggestions from a professional perspective for a better integration of Chinese and Western traditional medicine.
Other guests of honour present at the forum were the Director for the Office of Minister for Health of Cape Verde, Ms. Fátima Lima, the Deputy Director of the Department of Exchange under the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, Mr. Chen Wei, the representative of the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) and former Deputy Director of the Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Affairs Office of the NMPA, Mrs. Qin Xiaoling, the representative of the Ministry of Public Health of the Kingdom of Thailand and Deputy Director of the Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine, Mr PramoteStienrut, the Counsellor of the Consulate General of Mozambique in Macao, Mr. FranciscoDomingosManhiça, and the President of the Guangdong-Macao Traditional Chinese Medicine Technology Industrial Park Development Co., Ltd., Ms. Lu Hong.
At the opening ceremony, the Chief Executive of the Macao SAR, Mr. Chui Sai On, the Director-General of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macao SAR, Mr. Zheng Xiaosong, and other guests of honour jointly launched the International Exchange Base for Youth TCM Practitioners with the representative international youth TCM practitioners. Meanwhile, witnessed by the Chief Executive, Mr. Chui Sai On and other guests of honour, the GMTCM Park signed cooperation agreements with international agencies and key enterprises including the Dubai Healthcare City Authority, the China-Belgium Technology Center (CBTC), Kangmei Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., and China-Portuguese Speaking Countries Cooperation and Development Fund. Such results indicated that the GMTCM Park has preliminary achieved some results in establishing competitive platforms to promote Macao’s development of the TCM science and technology industry, as well as notable outcomes in developing itself into a specialized TCM Park with international competitiveness.
Phased Progress Achieved in Building a Platform for Industrial Development and Initial Effects of Industrial Clustering Demonstrated
At the opening ceremony, the Adviser to the Office of the Secretary for Economy and Finance of the Macao SAR Government and President of the Guangdong-Macao Traditional Chinese Medicine Technology Industrial Park Development Co., Ltd., Ms. Lu Hong, presented the progress of the construction of an incubation area in the GMTCM Park and its phased progress in international exchange and cooperation on traditional medicine.
As an important platform for development of the TCM industry in Macao and an essential vehicle for the development of enterprises engaged in health sector in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the GMTCM Park has completed the construction of an incubation area covering approximately 128,000 square metres, offering a rentable area of about 100,000 square metres, and capable of accommodating 300 to 400 enterprises. The entire incubation area comprises three sections, namely the incubator section, the accelerator section, and the independent headquarters section. In the incubator section, “One-stop” services such as technical support, fund matching, and business incubation are available to small and medium-sized start-ups. In the accelerator area, professional “accelerating” services of investment, financing, management consultation, and technical trading are provided for growing businesses. In the independent headquarters section, industrialised “value-added” services such as administration, R&D, and pilot scale production are available to key enterprises. The improvement of public service platforms will help the GMTCM Park to realize sustainable development by transforming from nurturing enterprises into nurturing industries.
Owing to the end of construction of the incubation area, as of end of August 2018, the GMTCM Park has negotiated with 487 enterprises, among them 94 have been registered, including 25 from Macao, covering areas such as traditional Chinese medicine, healthcare products, medical equipment, and health services. Among them, Kangmei Pharmaceutical, Yiling Pharmaceutical, and other key leading enterprises from the TCM comprehensive health sector have operational in the GMTCM Park.
Among the 25 registered Macao enterprises, 10 are TCM newly developed enterprises, while 9 are newly established by Macao’s traditional TCM enterprises. The GMTCM Park has become an important platform for supporting Macao enterprises engaged in the TCM sector and other health and pharmaceutical sectors, especially those growing enterprises, and is expected to develop into a new cluster of health and pharmaceutical sectors in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
Building an International Exchange Base for Youth TCM Practitioners to Promote the Development of Youth from Macao
The “International Exchange Base for Youth TCM Practitioners” is a platform for learning and exchange built by the GMTCM Park for young TCM practitioners in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area with the aim to broaden their worldwide vision and improve own professionalism. It will also serve as a bridge to promote the internationalization of TCM history and culture by means of cooperation and exchange. The Exchange Base will recruit industrial experts, representatives from associations, and representatives from enterprises to build a team of professional supervisors and provide guidance on various activities and integrate resources, as well as provide youth TCM practitioners with information on TCM development, specialized training, professional guidance, practical skills, and professional exchange salons in an effort to improve the professional quality of TCM talent.
An exchange salon was held for youth TCM practitioners, having the MSAR Government Secretary for Economy and Finance, Leong Vai Tac, participated in the activity and delivered his opening remarks. He encouraged international youth TCM practitioners to uphold the principle of “constantly striving for self-perfection and moving with the times”, to seize opportunities brought about by national development for Macao, understand new developments in the TCM industry in Mainland China and Macao alike, and keep improving and learning. The international platform offered by the GMTCM Park served to promote integration into the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, as well as self-improvement and development. Present at the Salon session, were also Professor and TCM master Liu Minru and Professor and TCM master Wang Qi, whereby exchanges and ideas sharing were carried out with local and overseas youth TCM practitioners, including from Macao. In addition, the Honorary President of the GuangdongProvincialHospitalofTraditional Chinese Medicine, Lu Yubo, and Vice President Yang Zhimin, presented the latest developments about TCM and expressed their profound expectations for the youth TCM practitioners regarding their professional development. Meanwhile, TCM representatives from Mainland China and Macao as well as representatives of distinguished students from the Mozambique training course shared their views on TCM practitioner training, professional techniques, occupational development, and international exchange. The Salon provided an interactive platform for youth TCM practitioners.
In the future, the Industrial Park will extend the coverage of the Exchange Base to include young TCM enthusiasts from Portuguese-speaking countries, develop the exchange Base into a platform for comprehensive exchanges between international youth TCM practitioners, and provide more development opportunities for youth from Macao.
Exchange and Sharing to Promote Cooperation and Explore Domestic and Overseas Development Opportunities
The two-day forum, under the theme of “Development and Globalization of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area”, was attended by some 500 guests from Macao, Mainland China, Hong Kong, the US, the EU, the ASEAN, and Portuguese-speaking countries, including renowned entities from supervisory agencies, experts, scholars from R&D institutions, and enterprises and businesses leaders from enterprises. At the Keynote Speeches session and the Themed Reports session, a total of 15 experts and scholars in the traditional medicine industry were invited from Mainland China, Hong Kong, Germany, Thailand, and Dubai to discuss issues under the three themes of policy innovation, market integration, and new opportunities for investment. The aim of the event is to promote Macao’s adequate economic diversification, create new patterns for regional development, advance Macao’s efforts to build “One Centre, One Platform”, leverage the positioning of the Industrial Park as an “International Window for the TCM Industry and Culture in the Context of the Belt and Road Initiative”, and promote international cooperation in the traditional medicine industry, taking advantage of opportunities of development brought about by the ‘Belt and Road’ Initiative and the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
On 21 September, a business matching session and an investment and financing forum will be held. The business matching session will be focused on themes such as the status quo of the traditional medicine’s international development, market expansion, and market supervision to provide enterprises and distributors with product demonstrations, technical exchanges, and business negotiations. The investment and financing forum will take place in the form of live road shows. Experts and investment agencies will be available on the spot for comments, and industrial investment funds and investment agencies will review projects. The purpose of the latter session is to offer project holders and investors adequate space for displaying their products, help them explore potential cooperation opportunities, and promote the application of TCM achievements with financial support.
This Forum was strongly supported by the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau of the MSAR Government, the Health Bureau of the MSAR Government, the Trade and Investment Promotion Institute of the MSAR Government, the Economic Services the MSAR Government, the Permanent Secretariat of the Forum for Economic and Trade Co-operation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries (Macao), the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Medicines and Health Products, Nam Kwong (Group) Company Limited, the University of Macau, and the Macau University of Science and Technology, among other government departments, industry associations, and research institutes.
