China and Zimbabwe should redouble the efforts to boost cooperation on projects of the two countries' traditional medicine, a visiting Chinese traditional medicine scholar said yesterday.
Xiao Caisong, head of a Chinese delegation and executive officer of Changsha Taibao Pharmaceutical Group, said they were in Zimbabwe to inspect the industry and seek out investment opportunities.
"We are happy to know some Chinese doctors specializing in acupuncture in the Chgituingwiza hospital when we toured the hospital," he said.
Xiao told Xinhua that they planned to introduce 25 Chinese medicines on the market, seven of them traditional.
"We are engaged in talks with the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare that we hope will give us a better insight into Zimbabwe's common problem diseases. From our initial research we understand some of them are HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and skin diseases, " Xiao said.
The delegation is on a two-week tour of Zimbabwe's pharmaceutical industry to scout for investment opportunities.
Yesterday, they met Zimbabwe's Health and Child Welfare Minister David Parirenyatwa and they will visit some Zimbabwean pharmaceutical companies, including CAPS and Varichem medicine processing plants.
The visiting delegation is also expected to tour the National Pharmaceutical Company (NATPHARM) and several pharmacies in Harare.
The Zimbabwean government has also urged the local health sector to make joint efforts with their Chinese counterparts to develop traditional Chinese medicine and local traditional medicine to meet the country's demands.