As scientists race to develop a vaccine for Covid-19, Beijing has been championing traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) as to how to treat the disease.
A recent white book released by the Chinese government claimed that 92% of the country's Covid-19 cases were treated in how with it.
TCM is one of the world's oldest sorts of practice and includes a variety of treatments from herbal concoctions to acupuncture to t' ai chi.
It is hugely popular in China across the generations, although occasionally fierce debates erupt online about its use
Experts say China is seeking to expand the appeal of TCM both reception and abroad, but healthcare professionals remain skeptical of its usefulness.
Overall effectiveness inconclusive - US
China's National Health Commission features a special TCM chapter in its coronavirus guidelines, while state media are highlighting its alleged role in past outbreaks like Sars in 2003.
Six traditional remedies are advertised as Covid-19 treatments, the 2 prominent ones being Lianhua Qingwen - containing 13 herbs like forsythia suspense and Rhodiola rose - and Jinhua Qinggan - which was developed during the 2009 H1N1 outbreak and is formed of 12 components including honeysuckle, mint, and licorice.
TCM's supporters argue that there's no downside to using them but experts say rigorous scientific tests are needed before such formulas are deemed safe.
The US National Institutes of Health said that while it's going to help with symptom relief, its overall effectiveness against the coronavirus is inconclusive.
"For TCM there's no good evidence and thus its use isn't just unjustified, but dangerous," Edzard Ernst, a retired UK-based researcher of complementary medicines, was quoted as saying in Nature journal recently.
Nevertheless, TCM is growing in China and seeing a rise in demand internationally. China's State Council last year estimated that the TCM industry would be worth $420bn (£337bn) by the top of 2020.
President Xi is claimed to be a "hardcore fan" of the traditional practice and has called it a "treasure of Chinese civilization".
But, Yanzhong Huang, a senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations, notes that "safety and efficacy issues plague TCM sector and most Chinese people still prefer modern medicine over TCM".
China's National Institute for Food and Drug Control last year found toxins in some TCM samples.
Soft squeeze play
Despite Beijing's persistent efforts to internationalize TCM, many of us outside China remain unaware of it.
Critics say China is now using the pandemic as how to market it abroad - an accusation that has been denied in state media.
However, China has been sending TCM supplies and practitioners alongside conventional drugs and equipment to Africa, Central Asia, and Europe.
"We are willing to share the 'Chinese experience' and 'Chinese solution' of treating Covid-19, and let more countries get to understand Chinese medicine, understand Chinese medicine, and use Chinese medicine," Yu Yanhong, deputy head of China's National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, said in March Mr. Huang believes China's promotion of TCM abroad amounts to a soft power push.
"The government narrative that portrays TCM as being effective against Covid-19 also serves to market the prevalence of China's anti-COVID approach, at a time when Western approaches appear to be ineffective in containing the spread of the virus," he said. TCM's international profile rose last year after the WHO formally recognized it following years of lobbying by China - a move condemned by the international medical profession.
The WHO then became embroiled in further controversy after it removed a warning about the utilization of traditional remedies to treat Covid-19 from its English- and Chinese-language recommendations.
But a scarcity of standards and almost no clinical trials have hampered the widespread adoption of TCM. In May Swedish authorities tested Lianhua Qingwen samples and located they only contained menthol.
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