Officials, experts expect more cooperation between China and Indonesia on medicinal plants

HAIKOU, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) — Officials and experts attending an international conference in China said they are looking forward to strengthening cooperation in medicinal plant protection and research between China and Indonesia.

On Friday, about 50 delegates from the two countries attended the fourth session of the Joint Committee of the China-Indonesia Base for Medicinal Plant Protection, Research and Innovation, held in Haikou, capital of southern China’s Hainan Province.

Delegates discussed the construction of the database and priorities for future work, and promoted the transformation of research cooperation and coordination of standards between the two sides.

The current construction area of ​​the base exceeds 30 hectares. Work on the project is progressing steadily and is expected to be officially completed in October, according to Nani Hendiarti, Deputy Minister for Environment Coordination and Forest Management at the Indonesian Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Investment Coordination.

Chen Shuai, deputy director general of the Department of International Cooperation of the National Development and Reform Commission of China, expressed hope that the scientific research institutions and pharmaceutical enterprises of the two countries with research, development and innovation capabilities will continue to carry out systematic research and development of medicinal plants and constantly improve the technical level in the application of medicinal resources.

According to the session, research institutions in both countries will deepen cooperation in research on quality standards for medical supplies, strengthen mutual learning on these quality standards, and intensify research on policies and regulations.

The meeting also announced an initiative to strengthen cooperation in research on standards for medical materials.