ACC Secretary-General Attended and Addressed the 2015 International Forum on China-ASEAN Traditional Medicine and Health Tourism

The 2015 International Forum on China-ASEAN Traditional Medicine and Health Tourism was held in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on 18 December 2015, with the theme “Traditional Medicine and Health Tourism Development and Cooperation”. The forum was co-hosted by China National Tourism Administration (CNTA), State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine (SATCM) and the People’s Government of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. ASEAN-China Centre (ACC) Secretary-General H.E. Mme. Yang Xiuping attended and addressed the forum. The Forum brought together over 300 delegates from the host institutions, Embassies and Consulates-General of ASEAN countries in China, UNDP, the UN World Peace Foundation and tourism and healthcare sectors.

H.E. Mr. Huang Ribo, Vice Chairman of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region said in his address that Guangxi, with its unique traditional Chinese herbs, medicinal cuisine and bath as well as one third of China’s places of longevity, held immense appeal to health-conscious tourists. It was home to one third of China’s places of longevity, and Bama was one of the five world-renowned places of longevity. As the permanent host of China-ASEAN Expo, Guangxi was now at the forefront of China-ASEAN cooperation in all areas and stands ready to promote cooperation in health tourism with ASEAN countries.

Mr. Wu Wenxue, Vice Chairman of CNTA and Mr. Yu Wenming, Vice Chairman of SATCM both spoke highly of the role of traditional medicine and health tourism in driving global growth, which could also become an important area of cooperation between China and ASEAN. In the past five years, global health tourism had grown at an annual rate of 9.9 %. The number of health tourists worldwide was expected to exceed 48.5 million in 2015. China and ASEAN countries were making full use of their own advantages to promote health tourism.

In her address to the Forum, Secretary-General Yang Xiuping underscored tourism cooperation as an important part of ASEAN-China economic and cultural links, which enjoyed enormous potential for growth. By the end of 2015, the number of mutual tourist visits between the two sides was expected to exceed 20 million. Both ASEAN and China, Secretary-General Yang said, had their own traditional medicine resources and may well cooperate in this area. The forum was an innovative event, as it integrated modern tourism and traditional culture. She also reaffirmed ACC’s commitment to deeper cooperation between ASEAN and China in trade, investment, education, culture, tourism, media and public relations.

Delegates at the Forum offered their advice on developing health tourism and suggested international cooperation be enhanced to ensure fast growth of the traditional medicine and health tourism sectors and improve the wellbeing of people in all countries.