Kazakhstan, the Central Asian country where Chinese leaders put forward the Belt and Road initiative, is now witnessing the popularization of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). The rising popularity is mostly thanks to the wider acceptance of TCM, as local perceptions of healthcare have shifted from being treatment-focused to prevention-driven, which is in line with TCM philosophy. While a number of domestic TCM manufacturers aim to tap Kazakhstan's huge market, industry insiders are warning of several hurdles in terms of legal application and cultural acceptance.
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), such as acupuncture, cupping, scraping therapy as well as herbal medicine, is now appealing to more and more patients in Kazakhstan, including 35-year-old Kazakh resident Panar who lives in Almaty, the Central Asian country's largest city.
"I'm now obsessed with TCM culture… I used to be skeptical about what the herbal leaves could do at first, but my attitude drastically shifted in 2014 because at that time, TCM therapy effectively controlled my mom's hyperglycemia," Panar told the Global Times over the weekend, noting that she has since then started to learn the medical theory of TCM.
In tandem with Panar's attitude changes are the growing interests of Kazakh people in TCM therapy. Zhu Cuimei, a Chinese national who operates a TCM clinic in Almaty, told the Global Times over the weekend that in recent years, foot massages have been increasingly welcomed in Kazakhstan, despite a relatively high price of 100 yuan ($14.59) per massage.
"Several years ago, there were merely two or three TCM clinics in Kazakhstan, but now there are plenty of them," Panar said
The booming Kazakh TCM healthcare sector is partly due to closer industry cooperation between China and Kazakhstan under the Belt and Road (B&R) initiative, Abai Baygizhin, chairman of the board of the Kazakh National Scientific Medical Center, told the Global Times.
In January 2017, Chinese authorities rolled out a road map to boost TCM in countries and regions along the B&R routes. Under the plan, China will set up 50 TCM communication and exchange centers in B&R countries and regions, and will promote 20 TCM international practice standards until 2020.
So far, TCM has spread to 180 countries and regions across the world, and 103 member states of the World Health Organization have already granted approval for the practices of Chinese acupuncture and moxibustion. Meanwhile, 18 members have included them in their medical insurance provisions, according to media reports.
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