China News Service, Beijing, October 18 (Reporters Zhou Xin, Li Chun, Ma Shuaisha) The 2026 World Congress of Traditional Medicine "Forum on the Integration of Traditional Medicine and Modern Medicine—Special Topics on Respiratory and Infectious Diseases" was held in Beijing on the 18th. Liu Qingquan, president of the Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine Affiliated to Capital Medical University, said in an interview with the media that it is necessary to use "formation" thinking and integrate diverse traditional medical wisdom to build a comprehensive and effective antimicrobial resistance (AMR) prevention and control system.
Liu Qingquan pointed out that currently, the global antibiotic research and development pipeline is shrinking and the evolution of drug resistance is accelerating. Facing the challenge of global public health, it is urgent to integrate diverse traditional medical wisdom from around the world and build a comprehensive and effective AMR prevention and control system.
Liu Qingquan told reporters that despite the continuous iteration of modern antibiotics, bacterial resistance is developing even faster. To combat drug-resistant bacteria, traditional Chinese medicine does not directly kill the bacteria, but changes the "soil" of the human body's internal environment, regulates the body's immune and inflammatory state, and at the same time intervenes in the biological characteristics of bacteria to delay the occurrence of drug resistance and collaborate with antibiotics to exert a therapeutic effect.
"During the treatment process, it is necessary to have 'sniper' drugs that can accurately combat drug-resistant bacteria, and to formulate corresponding TCM compatibility plans based on different drug-resistant bacteria, giving full play to the advantages of the 'array' to promote the integration of traditional medicine and modern medicine." Liu Qingquan said that multiple means must be used to collaboratively deal with drug-resistant bacterial infections.
Liu Qingquan said that the hospital has currently cooperated with medical institutions and universities in Pakistan, Mexico, Brazil and other countries. "Not only China, but also countries and regions with abundant herbal medicine resources in the world are expected to rely on this solution to alleviate the threat of drug-resistant infections, and at the same time release the value of local medicinal resources, so that research results can truly solve more problems." Liu Qingquan said.
On the same day, the forum released the initiative "Global Expert Consensus on Combating Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) with Traditional Medicines in the World". The initiative was led by the Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine Affiliated to Capital Medical University and launched in conjunction with the Academic Committee of the World Congress of Traditional Medicine-Respiratory and Infectious Diseases Forum.
The initiative promotes traditional medicine from experience to evidence-based, from regional to global, from auxiliary to collaborative prevention and control, and contributes traditional medicine solutions to the global response to antimicrobial resistance. (over)
