The opening ceremony of the 2026 Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Forum on Traditional Medicine was held on Thursday in Nanchang, east China's Jiangxi Province, bringing new opportunities for the growth and international cooperation of traditional medicine.

"Through scientific research cooperation, talent exchanges, training programs and other forms of collaboration, SCO countries can share expertise and technologies related to the research, production, conservation and utilization of traditional medicinal resources," said Guo Lanping, dean of the Institute of Chinese Materia Medica at the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, at the forum.

Such cooperation can strengthen the region's capacity to develop traditional medicinal resources in a coordinated way, while promoting their protection and utilization across SCO member countries, Guo said.