Exchanges and discussions on the integration and cooperation in the sector of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) took the center stage at the 2026 Cross-Strait Symposium on Cooperation and Development of TCM held in Xiamen City of east China's Fujian Province on Saturday.
At the symposium, which was part of the 18th Straits Forum, representatives from TCM sectors on both sides of the Taiwan Strait engaged in exchanges and discussions aimed at deepening integration in areas such as mutual recognition of standards and industrial collaboration.
"Taiwan has a strong pharmaceutical industry, but most of its TCM materials are from provinces on the Chinese mainland. The Chinese mainland, Taiwan, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and the Macao Special Administrative Region all have their standards for TCM materials. Through these exchanges, I have come to understand the importance of these standards," said Lee Wei-Chu, an official of the TCM research and development foundation in Taiwan.
"Relevant management in Taiwan is more meticulous than that on the Chinese mainland, and we have also learned a lot from the rigorous academic attitude and scientific research style in Taiwan. The Chinese mainland's innovation is worth learning from, such as AI empowerment of TCM development in our times, as well as relevant informatization and application of smart technologies," said Cai Chengfu, Party secretary of Xiamen Hospital of TCM.
Discussions on integration, cooperation in TCM sector high on agenda of cross-Strait symposium in Xiamen
China's high-tech manufacturing, emerging services, and new forms of consumption gained momentum in May, supporting steady economic growth as employment and prices stayed broadly stable, official data showed Tuesday.
Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that production and supply improved steadily during this period, while the economy continued to move toward innovation-driven and quality-oriented growth.
In agriculture, summer grain production is in good shape this year and is expected to deliver a good harvest.
Industrial production also picked up, with value-added industrial output of enterprises above designated size rising 4.5 percent year-on-year, 0.4 percentage points faster than in April.
The industrial sector continued to move up the value chain, with faster progress in smart, green and integrated manufacturing. In the first five months of the year, high-tech manufacturing contributed nearly 40 percent of overall industrial growth, pointing to stronger industrial competitiveness.
The services sector also expanded steadily. China's services production index rose 4.4 percent year on year in May, accelerating from the previous month, with emerging services such as information transmission, software and information technology maintaining solid growth.
Consumption continued to shift toward higher-quality demand. From January to May, services retail sales increased 5.4 percent, as demand for services was further released. Online, digital and green consumption became new growth points.
The job market remained generally stable, with the surveyed urban unemployment rate standing at 5.1 percent in May, down 0.1 percentage points from April.
China's economy remains steady in May as manufacturing, services drive growth
