China has signed 91 government contracts with 70 countries to cooperate in the general medical sector, plus 48 contracts exclusively concerned with TCM, according to Peng Yuhang, an official with Sichuan's science and technology department.

"Our government can have a big role to play in promoting TCM in the global market, said Wang Deqin, a manager from a Guangzhou-based TCM company.

"The Republic of Korea has sent government delegates to promote its ginseng in China. We should learn from their publicity strategies," Wang said.

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Professor Lin Bin, director of a TCM clinic in the Netherlands, suggested that China's domestic TCM companies generate long-term vision and cooperate with local competitors, as well as establish partnerships with prestigious European medical institutions specializing in research and development.

In fact, some companies have got the benefits of local partnerships. A Guangzhou-based pharmaceutical company obtained a drug license from medical authorities in the Republic of Belarus following a clinic project in cooperation with local medicine research institutions.

Experts have also called for the unity of all TCM companies as collective strength to explore the global market together.

The revenue of global herbal products has been increasing by 10-20 percent every year, but China's TCM only takes up about 3 percent of the global market, and 70 percent of its exports are raw herbs with much less added value.

"We still have a long way to go global, and most importantly, we need to pull our efforts together," Xian said.