BEIJING — Nine projects recommended by the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) on modernizing TCM have received official approval, with 95 million yuan ($13.5 million) in support from the central government.

They are part of the 43 special projects on TCM modernization research that have been approved by the Ministry of Science and Technology, according to the administration.

The central government will fund these projects with a total of 427 million yuan.

The projects will make integrated design for the TCM modernization in basic research, clinical and industrial levels.

During the 13th Five-year Plan period (2016-2020), the central government has invested 14.51 billion yuan in 126 major projects studying the modernization of TCM.

The major tasks of these projects involve the theoretical inheritance and innovation of TCM, the prevention and treatment of serious diseases by TCM, TCM resources guarantee, the development of pilot healthcare industries involving TCM, the internationalization of TCM, as well as the inheritance and innovation of traditional medicine of ethnic minorities.

From 2017 to 2019, the ministry had issued three sets of guidelines about applying for projects on TCM modernization research.

The goal of the projects is to work out a set of clinic protocols in preventing and treating serious and difficult diseases with TCM, develop TCM products, improve related international cooperation, upgrade TCM services, and speed up the development of TCM healthcare industries.