LANZHOU — Northwest China's Gansu province is donating a large shipment of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) medicaments to Thailand to help the southeast Asian nation fight COVID-19, the provincial health commission said on Aug 10.

The donation, including 9,000 boxes of TCM granules, will leave for Thailand this week.

Gansu is a major TCM production base in China and has a long history of growing herbs used in the Chinese system of medicine. TCM has been widely applied to treat COVID-19 patients in China and has proved effective.

"TCM can help prevent mild COVID-19 cases from becoming severe," said Yang Longjun, a provincial health commission official.

"We have accumulated practical experience and are willing to share it with physicians in Thailand, as COVID-19 poses a global threat," said Zhang Zhiming, president of the Affiliated Hospital of Gansu University of Chinese Medicine, which produced the batch of TCM medicaments.

Amporn Benjaponpitak, an official with the Ministry of Public Health of Thailand, expressed her gratitude at an online conference.

"In such a difficult time, Chinese people have offered great help to Thailand. Chinese experts have shared valuable experience. I believe we will together win the fight against the coronavirus," she said.