Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is experiencing a renewed importance in Australia as industry leaders and officials highlight its growing role in community health and its potential to enhance cooperation between Australia and China.

This momentum was underscored at the 15th anniversary celebration of the Chinese Medicine Industry Council of Australia (CMIC) in Sydney on Nov 15, where experts emphasized unity, innovation, and shared development in advancing the field.

Speaking at the event, Counsellor Jin Jianmin, from the Chinese Consulate-General in Sydney, said that China's newly released recommendations for its next Five-Year Plan set higher requirements for advancing the country's modernization.

"In field of healthcare, it calls for advancing the healthy China initiative, strengthening the disease control system, promoting high quality population development, preservation and innovation development of TCM, as well as integrated application of TCM and western medicine," Jin said.

He added that China's progress in health development provides new opportunities, resources, and talent for cooperation between China and Australia in traditional Chinese medicine, and will help further promote the development of TCM in Australia.

In his speech, CMIC President Max Anyang Ma reflected on the organization's 15-year journey, emphasizing its longstanding commitment to professionalism, quality, and sector-wide cohesion. He said that Chinese herbal medicine remains a core pillar of TCM, and that effective clinical outcomes depend equally on high-quality herbal materials and the diagnostic expertise of practitioners.

"From industry self-regulation to policy engagement, from standards development to talent cultivation, from cultural promotion to international exchange — every step reflects the collective strength of the industry working with one heart, one vision, and one path," Ma said.

Ma noted that CMIC has built direct and stable communication channels with regulators, contributed to national practitioner policy development, and played an active role in addressing regulatory issues concerning herbal ingredients.

He added that CMIC would continue working with partner associations to advance shared priorities, including advocating for acupuncture to be included under Australia's Medicare's chronic disease management program.

This year's celebration also featured the presentation of the Australia Qihuang Awards, recognizing individuals and organizations for their contributions to TCM research, education, clinical practice, and industry development.

Pamela Longley, chair of the NSW Chinese Medicine Council, said introducing Chinese medicine in Australia, especially herbal medicine had not been easy due to its complexity and the cultural knowledge it requires.

"Australia is not an easy country to introduce something as complex as Chinese medicine, and particularly Chinese herbal medicine," she said. "Westerns adopted acupuncture kind of easily and westernized, but it's a much more challenging task to get an understanding of the theory and the historical excellence of Chinese medicine as a totality."

She said sustained cooperation between Chinese and Australian practitioners is gradually changing the public's understanding and helping more people appreciate the richness of traditional medicine.

"I hope that we can jointly work on that and change the shape of the health industry in Australia in the future," Longley said.