The 2021 SCO Forum on Traditional Medicine is held in Nanchang, capital of east China’s Jiangxi province from July 28 to 30. As an important event marking the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the event is themed on "Inheritance, Innovation, Mutual Learning, and Sharing". About 500 guests from China and SCO member states attended the event online and offline. Zhyldyz Bakashova, Deputy Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan and Nikolai Snopkov, First Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus addressed the forum via videolink. Diplomatic envoys to China from Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Armenia, Russia and other countries delivered speeches. The Nanchang Initiative on SCO Traditional Medicine Cooperation was passed and issued at the forum.

The Initiative states that, traditional medicine refers to a variety of knowledge, skills, and practices based on theories, beliefs, and experiences specific to different cultures to maintain health, prevent, diagnose, improve, or treat both physical and mental diseases. The SCO countries recognized the positive role of traditional medicine in fighting against COVID-19 and its excellent support for protecting people's health and building a shared community of health for mankind. The SCO countries are dedicated to promoting extensive inter-governmental and people-to-people exchanges in education, medical treatment, research, and medicinal material resources of traditional medicine. A broad consensus has been made as follows:

1. The heritage, innovation, and development of traditional medicine are of practical significance to the healthy development of the domestic medical and health system. Countries are committed to protecting traditional medicine culture and resources, promoting its closer integration with modern medicine, in order for traditional medicine to play a more prominent role and contribute more to the global health governance.

2. Countries will actively conduct researches on the prevention, diagnosis, improvement, or treatment of both physical and mental diseases with traditional medicine to achieve safe and effective use of traditional medicine. We will jointly explore how to handle common health challenges, including chronic diseases, new or recurrent infectious diseases, or cross-border public health emergencies with traditional medicine.

3.    They will boost education and training on traditional medicine, enhance its market promotion, and strengthen exchanges between traditional medicine providers to encourage mutual learning and enhance the overall capacity building.

4.    SCO countries will actively exchange and cooperate on medicinal plants-based traditional medicine to establish a multi-subject, multi-level, multi-form, and multi-angle cooperation framework; and proactively develop trade-in-service to facilitate the overall development of traditional medicine.

5.    The heritage and innovation of traditional medicine have a positive impact on the progress of world civilization. We are willing to further strengthen cooperation in the field of traditional medicine, better serve human health, and realize  the vision of "Health for All."

We will strengthen exchanges and cooperation in traditional medicine within the SCO framework and continue to hold the SCO Forum on traditional medicine.