Empowering Grassroots Communities and Ensuring Strategic Implementation | The National Promotion Conference for the National Key R&D Program Concludes Successfully

On May 23, the National Promotion Conference for the National Key R&D Program was solemnly held in Hanshou, Hunan Province, bringing together leaders from the Hanshou County Government and the health commission, heads of research institutions and universities, and experts from nearly two hundred medical institutions. The conference comprehensively outlined the implementation plan for building county-level specialized centers for rheumatic and pain-related conditions under the National Key R&D Program, marking the entry of the “Thousand Counties, Ten Thousand Towns” initiative into a new phase of large-scale nationwide rollout.

On the 22nd, the nation’s first agro‑industrial‑trade‑medical consortium dedicated to the Rutaceae family was established here; on the 23rd, the National Key R&D Program Promotion Conference followed, with both events held in tandem, underscoring the robust momentum of integrated development between the traditional Chinese medicine industry and primary healthcare. The HanShou County Party Committee and County Government attach great importance to the cause of traditional Chinese medicine, providing solid support for the successful convening of the conference.

On the morning of the 23rd, the conference officially opened. Qi Jiajun, Secretary of the Party General Branch of Hanshou County Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, delivered a welcoming address, extending a warm welcome to Academician Liu Liang and all the guests attending from across the country. He provided a detailed overview of the hospital’s remarkable achievements in advancing the distinctive development of TCM and building a specialized department for rheumatic pain, leveraging the academician‑led project. He expressed his hope that this conference would serve as an opportunity to deepen nationwide collaboration, thereby empowering grassroots healthcare to enhance quality and efficiency.

Subsequently, Academician Liu Liang Wu Feichi, director of the expert workstation and chairman of Zhengqing Group, delivered a speech. He stated that Zhengqing Group has been deeply committed to traditional Chinese medicine for 34 years, consistently working closely with Academician Liu Liang to build the nation’s only high-tech industrial chain centered on Qingfengteng. Its subsidiaries… Zhengqing Fengtongning The product series has achieved one world‑first and six national firsts, earning it the reputation as the “next artemisinin” in the field of traditional Chinese medicine; a triple‑therapy approach for rheumatism and pain. Sequential therapy As a national project for the dissemination of scientific and technological achievements in traditional Chinese medicine, it has reached nearly 20,000 medical institutions nationwide, benefiting over 100 million people and earning the trust of both physicians and patients. He highlighted the progress and strategic significance of the “Thousand Counties, Ten Thousand Towns” initiative, emphasizing that the project has evolved from corporate-level implementation to a national endeavor. Strong Foundation Project The Key R&D Program calls on all stakeholders to join forces and jointly promote the widespread adoption of appropriate traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) technologies at the grassroots level.

Academician Liu Liang of the Chinese Academy of Engineering delivered a special report titled “Deepening the Development of Zhengqing Fengtongning to Promote High-Quality Products on the Global Stage.” The report focused on three core areas—innovative research and development in traditional Chinese medicine, product and technological upgrades for Zhengqing Fengtongning, and its application in primary‑care settings—sharing cutting-edge scientific findings, analyzing pathways for the high‑quality development of TCM, and highly commending the grassroots practical value of the Hanshou Model and the “Thousand Counties, Ten Thousand Towns” initiative. It provides authoritative academic guidance for the nationwide development of specialized departments for rheumatic pain.

At the meeting, Xia Xinbin, head of the Hunan Provincial Center for Health Reform and Development Research, delivered a special report on “Progress in the Construction of a Specialized Model for Rheumatology and Pain Comorbidity within County‑Level Medical Consortiums and Its Regional Demonstration Application.” The report systematically reviewed the interim results, key breakthroughs, and future implementation plans of the national key R&D program, clearly outlining the project’s comprehensive trajectory from theoretical research to practical application.

He Zhiguo, Secretary-General of the International Rheumatology and Pain Physicians Group, provided a detailed overview of the “Thousand Counties, Ten Thousand Townships” Project on the Triple‑Sequential Therapy for Rheumatology and Pain, along with its implementation progress. He outlined the project’s nationwide rollout across multiple dimensions, including the establishment of medical consortium networks, the development of standardized diagnostic and treatment systems, and the training of primary‑care personnel. To date, 33 specialized rheumatology and pain medical consortia have been officially established nationwide; this year, the initiative plans to expand to 100 such consortia, with a goal of covering one thousand counties and reaching ten thousand townships by 2030, thereby providing targeted support to enhance grassroots capacity in the diagnosis and management of rheumatic and painful conditions.

During the conference, a session was held to exchange and share achievements in the development of county-level medical consortia. Lu Yongxiang, Deputy Director of the HanShou County Health Commission; Chen Wei, Director of the Acupuncture and Rehabilitation Department at HanShou County Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital; Chen Shengqian, Director of the Chenyang Community Health Service Center; Li Juan, Director of the Orthopedics and Rehabilitation Department at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Hunan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine; and Zhou Xu, Vice President of the Dachuan District TCM Hospital in Dazhou City, each presented their experiences in building medical consortia, advancing specialized departments, enhancing primary‑care services, and establishing pain‑management programs. Their case studies were vivid and yielded remarkable results, offering valuable insights for the nationwide “Thousand Counties, Ten Thousand Towns” initiative.

In the afternoon, a symposium on projects under the National Key R&D Program was held at Hanshou County Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital. Attendees conducted on-site visits to observe the hospital’s standardized development of its Rheumatology and Pain Department and the application of its distinctive diagnostic and therapeutic techniques. They engaged in in-depth discussions on topics such as joint specialty‑building initiatives, the dissemination of advanced technologies to lower‑level facilities, and talent cultivation, thereby forging a nationwide consensus on broader implementation.

The organization of this event not only serves as a concentrated showcase of the interim achievements of China’s National Key R&D Program, but also marks an important milestone in bringing innovative TCM advances down to the grassroots level and enhancing public health. It has established a high‑quality platform for nationwide exchange and collaboration in the development of specialized departments for rheumatic pain, further clarifying the national rollout strategy under the “Thousand Counties, Ten Thousand Towns” initiative. By fostering consensus across sectors and pooling collective momentum, the event has provided a replicable and scalable model for deploying high‑quality, appropriate TCM technologies at the county level, thereby empowering the high‑quality development of primary healthcare and injecting strong impetus into the Healthy China initiative.