The authorities are planning to open a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) hospital in Russia - the first one outside the country - and launch a range of TCM services in Europe, Africa and Southeast Asia this year, a senior official said on Monday.

The move is aimed at boosting the recognition of TCM in other parts of the world, Wang Xiaopin, deputy head of foreign affairs department from the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine (SATCM), said.

"TCM service outlets, such as Chinese herb sales, short courses on TCM training and TCM treatment centers will be launched in various countries in Europe, Africa and Southeast Asia in 2009.

"The first TCM hospital outside China is expected to be built in Russia this year," she told China Daily on the sidelines of the annual TCM meeting held in Beijing yesterday.

Wang said China received 10 million yuan ($1.46 million) from overseas students, who came to study TCM in the country, last year.

"We believe there should be a considerable demand for such services worldwide too," she said.

However, Wang declined to reveal how much profit the TCM projects abroad were expected to raise.

In 2005, there were about 50 countries and regions that imported traditional drugs from China, she said, adding that the figure went up to 170 by 2008, with sales of 1.18 billion yuan, 10 percent higher than the previous year.

Wang said apart from setting experimental outlets of TCM services, her agency would continue promoting TCM in the US, France, Australia, Russia, and especially Africa, where diseases such as malaria are common.

"TCM is known to be effecting in curing such diseases," she said.

Traditional Chinese herbs "cured about 40,000 patients of malaria" in Africa last year, and Chinese experts will continue working on prevention of the mosquito-borne disease in the region in 2009, Wang said.

Meanwhile, Wang said the administration suspended 83 TCM clinics for operating illegally, and blocked 225 websites for selling fake Chinese herbal medicines last year.

(China Daily January 13, 2009)