In his important speeches, General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly emphasized the integration of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and Western medicine, giving full play to the unique advantages of TCM in disease prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation, and strengthening the exchange and cooperation of TCM with foreign countries.

On December 14, 2020, Guang'anmen Hospital successfully held the "Defining the New Normal Under COVID-19 with Traditional Chinese Medicine". The conference adopted the form of online (cross-border remote video + platform live broadcast). Experts from China, Spain, Malaysia, Cambodia, Sudan and other countries gave keynote speeches respectively, sharing their anti-epidemic experiences and discussing the role of traditional medicine and integrated TCM and Western medicine under the long-term existence of COVID-19 Epidemic. The symposium was chaired by Cui Yongqiang, Director of the Office of International Cooperation. Nearly 30 experts attended the conference, and about a hundred professionals were online for live learning.

Lyu Wenliang, Vice president of our hospital, shared his experience of participating in the battle against the epidemic in Wuhan, and focused on the "Chinese experience" of the combination of TCM and western medicine in the treatment of COVID-19 -the selection of prescriptions and the advantages of combined TCM and western medicine in the treatment of COVID-19 pneumonia. He pointed out that the advantages of TCM have been fully reflected in the fight against COVID-19 pneumonia, and put forward his own views on how to promote the development of the integration of TCM and western medicine in the future.

Dr. Bletran Carrillo, President of the Spanish Medical Acupuncture Society, said that he is continuously exploring the evidence of acupuncture efficacy through scientific research. Dr. Santini Sinnathambi, Chief medical officer of Tung Shin Hospital in Malaysia, introduced Tung Shin Hospital actively learning the experience of anti-epidemic of TCM in the early stage of the epidemic, and hoped that TCM will intervene in the treatment of patients before admission and during the rehabilitation period. Dr. Pen Sunna, Director of the Cambodian Green Kingdom Alliance Co., Ltd., hoped to cooperate with our hospital to carry out evidence-based research on traditional medicine for the benefit of the two peoples.

Zhang Jiaxuan, President of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine Malaysia Alumni Association, introduced the results of the Malaysian TCM Anti-epidemic Group, hoping that with the help of experts, TCM could play a more important role, and sincerely invited the vice president of our hospital Lv Wenliang to serve as the medical consultant of anti-epidemic Group. Prof. Faiz Sayed, General director of the Makkah EECP Rehabilitation Center in Sudan, said that traditional medicine in the Middle East and North Africa had also been applied in the local anti-epidemic work. He also hoped to cooperate with our hospital in depth to explore the development of Lianhua Qingwen research projects in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

At the meeting, experts from various countries jointly provided suggestions for future practical cooperation, and talked freely about how to carry out diversified, multi-field and in-depth international cooperation, and use the "TCM Program" to serve local people and jointly enhance human health and well-being.

The meeting was highly praised by the experts who wrote back, saying that they had gained a lot. They hoped to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with our hospital under the normalization of the epidemic, and sincerely invited our hospital to send experts to the local area for guidance. At the same time, they actively applied for local special funds to study in our hospital.

TCM has played a great role in the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of COVID-19, and has been widely praised at home and abroad. This new form of webinar has broken the geographical and time constraints, and brought infinite possibilities for deepening the international cooperation of TCM in epidemic prevention and control, enabling the cooperation of TCM and Western medicine at home and abroad to benefit the "One Belt And One Road" people, and promoting the spread of TCM culture and the experience of TCM in the first line of fighting the epidemic.