On September 16, the Conference on Building Liaoning Province into a Strong Province for Traditional Chinese Medicine was held in Shenyang, Liaoning Province. The conference thoroughly implemented General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important expositions on TCM work, carried out the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, and set forth requirements for promoting the inheritance, innovation, and development of TCM in Liaoning Province and for building the province into a strong province for TCM. Zhang Guoqing, Secretary of the Liaoning Provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Liaoning Provincial People’s Congress, issued instructions, while Liu Ning, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Governor of the province, attended the conference and delivered a speech.

In his instructions, Zhang Guoqing pointed out that traditional Chinese medicine is a treasured gem of Chinese civilization and plays a vital role in safeguarding public health. Over the years, the province’s TCM community and the broad ranks of TCM professionals have steadfastly leveraged the distinctive strengths of TCM, vigorously advanced the development of the TCM sector, and achieved remarkable results in medical practice, education, research, and industry. Notably, during the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, TCM demonstrated its unique advantages and played an indispensable role, making significant contributions to protecting the lives and health of the people across the province. Liaoning is a major TCM province, endowed with abundant TCM resources, a strong pool of talent, and robust capabilities in scientific and technological innovation, giving it inherent and advantageous conditions for developing the TCM sector. All localities and relevant departments are urged to thoroughly study and implement General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important expositions on TCM work, adhere to the principles governing the development of TCM, inherit its essence while upholding fundamental principles and fostering innovation, capitalize on the province’s TCM resources, strengthen collaboration with top domestic experts and research institutions, vigorously develop TCM-specific industries, promote high-quality development of both the TCM sector and industry, strive to realize the goal of building Liaoning into a leading TCM province, and make new and greater contributions to building a healthy Liaoning and enhancing the health and well-being of all residents of the province.

In his address, Liu Ning emphasized that the noble mission of great physicians—to benefit all people and bring healing to the entire population—requires accelerating the inheritance, innovation, and development of traditional Chinese medicine, a cause that yields benefits for our time and enduring advantages for generations to come. All relevant departments at every level across the province, as well as the broad ranks of TCM practitioners, must thoroughly implement General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important expositions on TCM work, deeply appreciate the profound significance of building Liaoning into a leading province in TCM, expand the scale of the modern TCM industry, continuously enhance TCM service capabilities, develop more effective medicines and renowned prescriptions, cultivate more distinguished masters and eminent physicians, vigorously advance the construction of a healthy Liaoning, and thereby improve the health and well-being of the people. First, we must accelerate the improvement of the TCM medical service system and the development of innovative TCM service models; increase policy support; strengthen the construction of the “Cloud TCM” platform; enhance disease prevention and treatment capacities; highlight distinctive features and leverage comparative strengths; and better serve the people of the entire province. Second, we must make vigorous efforts to cultivate a robust TCM talent pool by deepening TCM education reform, reinforcing the pivotal role of academic institutions in talent training, improving the apprenticeship-based education system, refining evaluation and incentive mechanisms, and building a high-caliber, professional TCM workforce. Third, we must comprehensively elevate TCM’s capacity for inheritance and innovation by upholding the fundamental principles of syndrome differentiation and individualized treatment while pioneering new approaches to modern application; establish multidisciplinary, integrated research platforms; promote scientific research and technological innovation in TCM; and strengthen the “Liaoning School of TCM” brand. Fourth, we must expand and fortify TCM’s advantageous industries by strengthening the conservation and sustainable utilization of germplasm resources, advancing the development of regionally distinctive medicinal materials, building demonstration bases for TCM specialties, and developing classic, time-honored TCM formulas; promoting the standardization of crude herbs, processed herbal slices, and finished preparations; and fostering the development of the TCM industry through open cooperation.

Liu Ning stated that Liaoning is a major province for traditional Chinese medicine, and that it enjoys a solid foundation and distinct advantages in inheriting the essence of TCM while upholding its core principles and fostering innovation, thereby accelerating its development into a leading TCM province. He emphasized the need to strengthen organizational leadership, ensure effective accountability, fully leverage all policies that encourage and support the inheritance and innovative development of TCM, and vigorously promote the vital role of TCM in safeguarding public health, so that TCM culture can shine anew and make fresh contributions under the new historical conditions.

The meeting was held via videoconference, with sub-venues set up in all cities and the Shenyang–Fushun Demonstration Zone. Chen Lüping, Vice Governor of Liaoning Province, presided over the meeting and conveyed the instructions of Secretary Zhang Guoqing. The Liaoning Provincial Health Commission provided an explanation of the “Implementation Opinions on Vigorously Promoting the Inheritance, Innovation, and Development of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Building Liaoning into a Strong Province for TCM.” The Liaoning Provincial Development and Reform Commission, the Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology, the Provincial Department of Science and Technology, the Provincial Drug Administration, and the Provincial Medical Insurance Bureau each delivered statements expressing their positions.