HONG KONG -- China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government on Thursday released the first Chinese Medicine Development Blueprint of Hong Kong, outlining the vision of Chinese medicine development in Hong Kong.

The blueprint sets out short, medium and long-term goals and action plans across key areas, covering five key domains, including Chinese medicine services, Chinese medicine profession, Chinese medicine development, cultural inheritance, and going global.

The first goal of the blueprint is to enhance clinical services excellence by defining the role of Chinese medicine services within the healthcare system. The blueprint also emphasizes the establishment of an interprofessional service system by deepening interprofessional collaboration mechanisms for Chinese medicine services.

On the development of Chinese medicines, the blueprint sets out strengthening quality management of Chinese medicines to enhance their overall quality and standards.

Lo Chung-mau, secretary for health of the HKSAR government, said that the blueprint aims at utilizing Chinese medicine to provide Hong Kong residents with higher quality and more comprehensive healthcare services for better health outcomes, while establishing Hong Kong as a bridgehead for the global expansion of traditional Chinese medicine.