Recently, the National Development and Reform Commission issued the “14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of the Bioeconomy” (hereinafter referred to as the “Plan”), which sets out five key tasks: substantially strengthening the innovation foundation of the bioeconomy; fostering and expanding pillar industries of the bioeconomy; actively promoting the conservation and sustainable utilization of biological resources; accelerating the development of a biosecurity assurance system; and striving to optimize the policy environment in the biosector.

With regard to robustly strengthening the innovation foundation of the bioeconomy, the Plan specifies the need to advance cutting-edge biotechnological innovation, including research on the mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effects of traditional Chinese medicine in treating major diseases and on the principles governing the efficacy of acupuncture. It also calls for deepening international cooperation on bioeconomic innovation, promoting the global expansion of innovative pharmaceuticals, high-end medical devices, genetic testing, pharmaceutical R&D services, traditional Chinese medicine, and internet-based healthcare services, and encouraging bio-enterprises to accelerate their integration into the international market by establishing overseas R&D centers, production facilities, sales networks, and service systems.

With regard to fostering and strengthening the bioeconomy’s pillar industries, the Plan calls for enhancing disease diagnostic capabilities; reinforcing research on the efficacy assessment and underlying mechanisms of traditional Chinese medicine to promote the inheritance and innovation of TCM theory; and elevating the standard of clinical medical care. It also emphasizes integrating time-honored traditional principles with modern biotechnology, advancing the integrated application of TCM and Western medicine as well as the combined use of TCM and Western pharmaceuticals, systematically promoting and scaling up biological and green pest-control technologies and models, and coordinating efforts to standardize the use of antimicrobial agents.

In terms of actively promoting the conservation and sustainable use of biological resources, the Plan specifies that a nationwide survey of biological resources—including crops, forests, grasslands, livestock and aquaculture species, and traditional Chinese medicinal materials—shall be conducted to gain a comprehensive understanding of local biodiversity, ecosystem functions, and patterns of change in biological populations. A sensor-based environmental monitoring and early-warning platform will be established, with expanded applications of satellite remote sensing and UAV-based aerial remote-sensing technologies in the monitoring and early warning of biological resources, thereby enabling real-time monitoring and dynamic analysis of wild flora and fauna, crops, and traditional Chinese medicinal materials. National and regional germplasm resource banks for crops, forest and grassland species, and traditional Chinese medicinal materials will also be set up. An ecological cultivation system will be developed, with rational planning and layout of bases for the cultivation and breeding of traditional Chinese medicinal materials, production of agroforestry biomass feedstock, and seedling propagation, so as to enhance the level of superior variety development and intelligent management in planting and breeding.

With regard to accelerating the development of a biosecurity assurance system, the Plan calls for strengthening scientific and technological support for biosecurity risk prevention and control. It also emphasizes expediting the review and approval of vaccines, traditional Chinese medicines and Western pharmaceuticals, as well as diagnostic reagents, related to the prevention and control of major epidemics, and enhancing the level of informationization within the regulatory system.

In terms of striving to optimize the policy environment in the biopharmaceutical sector, the Plan calls for exploring the establishment of a new drug development and approval system that is tailored to the unique characteristics of traditional Chinese medicine. It also emphasizes making effective use of the sub-centers for technical review and inspection of drugs and medical devices in the Yangtze River Delta and the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area, and encouraging pilot reforms in areas such as cell therapy, traditional Chinese medicine, and the registration and regulation of TCM medical devices, leveraging the advantages of free trade pilot zones and the Hainan Free Trade Port.

In addition, the Plan outlines seven major bioeconomy initiatives, including the Initiative to Enhance Innovation Capacity in the Bioeconomy, the Initiative to Bring Biopharmaceutical Technologies to Public Benefit, and the Initiative to Upgrade the Modern Seed Industry.

With regard to the Project for Enhancing Innovation Capacity in the Bioeconomy, the Plan calls for the establishment of key, common biotechnology innovation platforms. These platforms will be closely aligned with supporting and serving major national strategic tasks and priority projects, with the overarching goal of accelerating technology application and industrial translation. Specifically, in such critical areas as the prevention and control of major infectious diseases, the prevention and treatment of major illnesses, novel biopharmaceuticals, advanced biomaterials, precision medicine, medical imaging and therapeutic devices, nucleic acid–based and recombinant vaccines, biomanufacturing microbial strains, forest-derived pharmaceuticals, traditional Chinese medicine, seed resources for staple crops and other important agricultural products, bio-based eco-friendly materials, and biomass energy, the Plan proposes the deployment and construction of a range of common-technology platforms, including clinical research centers, industry innovation centers, engineering research centers, manufacturing innovation centers, technology innovation centers, enterprise technology centers, biomedical testing and inspection and technical standards research centers, and centers for the inheritance and innovation of traditional Chinese medicine. These platforms will provide essential support for conducting research and development on key, common technologies and for demonstrating their practical applications. In addition, to expedite the approval process for new drug launches and strengthen post-market surveillance, the Plan calls for the establishment of a scientific research base for pharmaceutical regulation, as well as technology platforms for the quality and safety evaluation of antibody drugs, fusion protein drugs, biosimilars, stem cell and cellular immunotherapy products, gene therapy products, exosome-based therapies, and traditional Chinese medicines.

With regard to the public-benefit initiative for biopharmaceutical technologies, the Plan calls for enhancing the quality of traditional Chinese medicine. This includes selecting and breeding a number of superior varieties of medicinal materials to strengthen quality assurance at the source, promoting the transformation and upgrading of the traditional medicinal-materials cultivation industry, and establishing an ecological cultivation system for such materials. The Plan also emphasizes the development of high-quality TCM products, supports standardization efforts in TCM, and calls for the establishment of a TCM reference material bank, a quality-control standards system, and an information-data platform.