Editor’s Note：This article is based on the author’s speech at the International Exchange Centre of Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and some first-hand insights gained in 2025. It discusses the developmental pathway of Integrative Chinese Medicine, emphasising the promotion of innovation and cooperation in the global health sector through bidirectional communication and in-depth interaction between the Chinese and English-speaking worlds.
The success of Integrative Chinese Medicine relies on multidisciplinary professionals proactively studying and being inspired by TCM theories and the clinical experience of TCM experts to engage in mutually beneficial collaborative research. As the birthplace and resource-rich hub of TCM, China, along with the greater Chinese cultural sphere, plays an irreplaceable role in this process. We have previously proposed a “multidimensional integration” framework aimed at fostering collaboration across regions, disciplines, and sectors. In doing so, it is essential to balance sustainable development, the similarities and differences in the needs of partners, and equitable benefit-sharing. This requires adherence to guidelines for risk assessment of medicinal resources to ensure sustainability, and safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of countries over their biological genetic resources within international frameworks such as the Convention on Biological Diversity. Such measures build mutual trust, promote cooperation, and facilitate the sharing of outcomes.
In advancing related research at King’s College London, we must remain committed to learning from the TCM community and actively collaborating with colleagues across the greater Chinese cultural sphere and globally. Our goal is to address global health challenges with innovative thinking and methodologies. The outcomes should not only be disseminated in English to meet international needs but also published in Chinese to serve scholars and the public in the Chinese-speaking world, thereby contributing to the development of medicine and healthcare in the area.
The following three examples illustrate the above principles:
Last year, I was invited to serve as the chief proofreader for the Chinese translation of an English monograph on Critical Care Nephrology, which was published this June. Such efforts in “disseminating Western learning to the East,” alongside works like Professor Paul U. Unschuld’s English translation of the Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) that represent “disseminating Eastern learning to the West”, collectively foster dialogue between TCM and global medical traditions.
Second, the “repatriation”， rediscovery and global promotion of ancient TCM texts through literature research. This year, scholars from the King’s Centre for Integrative Chinese Medicine, the British Library, and Hong Kong Baptist University jointly supported Dr. Fu Lu of the China Institute for History of Medicine and Medical Literature, the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences in conducting systematic research on ancient materia medica texts housed in the British Library. The study uncovered several rare editions, with some findings already published in the Chinese edition of Chinese Medicine and Culture. Subsequent research outcomes are also planned for publication in the journal’s English edition. We will further compile and publish a public catalogue to make these precious texts accessible beyond academia, serving TCM education, research and care at King’s, in the UK, and globally.
Third, the exploration of “TCM going global” and “newly introduced TCM medicinal herbs”. Over a hundred Chinese medicinal herbs have been included in the European Pharmacopoeia, reflecting TCM’s international influence. Simultaneously, in collaboration with a team from Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, we are conducting research on new foreign medicinal herbs for potential use in TCM, investigating the TCM properties of overseas herbs such as Centaurium erythraea and Melaleuca alternifolia. This work seeks to introduce global medicinal resources into the TCM system, enriching its materia medica repository.
Within Western academic evaluation systems, such endeavours may be regarded as “non-mainstream”. However, the King’s Centre for Integrative Chinese Medicine is committed to this dual mission: promoting the integration of TCM into global innovation networks and introducing worldwide medical wisdom and medicinal resources to the greater Chinese cultural sphere. Moving forward, we shall continue to actively advance the “mutual engagement” between the Chinese and English-speaking worlds in the field of TCM, making this a core developmental pathway for the Centre.
(Dr Qihe Xu, King’s Centre for Integrative Chinese Medicine, King’s College London)
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