Vice Minister Shang Yong of Science and Technology(MOST) and visiting Italian Health Minister Livia Turco signed a MOU on building a joint lab for traditional Chinese medicines (TCM) and unveiled the plate of the lab. The signing ceremony was joined by Dai Xianglong, Mayor of Tianjin Municipality.

Shang said that the Chinese and Italian sides should take this lab as a base to develop Chinese medicines by integrating TCM with systematic biology and modern biotechnologies, get registered in EU and work for embedding TCM research into the EU 7th Framework Programme. He said that MOST would back up any R&D activities of this lab with all efforts.

Minister Turco said that the Italian side would work with the Chinese partners, integrate the science resources from the business, research and education communities and facilitate the lab in R&D and registration of new medicines in EU.