China’s experience in combining the use of TCM and Western medicine is invaluable for dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, Zhang Boli, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said at a COVID-19 symposium.

The video International Symposium on COVID-19 between China and Australia is held in Tianjin, China on April 4, 2020. (Photo: Zhu Hong/People's Daily)

The video International Symposium on COVID-19 between China and Australia was held on Saturday, with a main venue set in China’s Tianjin, and 18 parallel sessions taking place in Beijing, Wuhan and other overseas cities.

Zhang, also the president of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and a member of China’s COVID-19 Expert Team from the Central Guiding Team, took over the Jiangxia Temporary Treatment Center in February. During the operation of the hospital, no patient’s condition became severe, no one became sick again after being cured, and no medical staff became infected.

“The patients at the Jiangxia Temporary Treatment Center were all treated with TCM. At the same time, they received physical therapy, acupuncture, herbal applications and massage,” Zhang said. “The early intervention with TCM greatly reduced the rate of patients developing severe conditions.”

The conference was hosted by the China Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine.