Abstract
Due to Belt and Road Initiative, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) a 2,000-year-old Chinese national treasure is experiencing a fresh thrive. By 2020, China aims to issue 20 TCM international standards, register 100 TCM products and build 30 overseas TCM centres in BRI (Belt and Road Initiative) countries. BRI initiative is intended to expand TCM understanding and increase exchanges between researchers and healthcare professionals, for instance, through a new hospital alliance and a health policy research network. Worldwide trade in TCM services, including clinic treatment, education and training, and health tourism is estimated to be at about $50 billion. TCM has become a vital area of health and trade cooperation between China and the ASEAN, EU, Africa, and Central and Eastern Europe. In the present scenario, BRI countries (~70) also have the opportunity to promote their own traditional and complementary medicine systems globally such as Ayurveda, homeopathy, and unani medicines. A flagship project of BRI, China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Pakistan is intended to rapidly modernize infrastructure of Pakistan and strengthen its economy through diverse projects with the value of ~ $62 billion as of 2017. In this scenario, it’s vital for the herbal practitioner’s, scientists, industry and policy makers in Pakistan to explore the opportunity given by BRI and CPEC to promote the herbal industry by forging the practices of TCM. This will result in a massive move towards the achievement of SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) globally and will nurture herbal industries to develop on solid scientific and legal grounds.
