China will accelerate the development of traditional minority medicine, a top official with the Ministry of Health said yesterday.

The remarks came after an official statement that traditional Chinese medicine was one of the best parts of Chinese culture and should not be excluded from medical and health systems in the country.

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The statement, made by the Ministry of Health and the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine (SATCM), was in response to a call by some academics to abolish traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) from the country's medical system.

By the end of last year, a total of 15 ethnic groups including Tibetans, Mongolians and Uygur minorities had established 195 hospitals that treated patients with their minority medicines, She Jing, vice-health minister and director of SATCM told a national conference.

The gathering of Chinese minorities' medicine proponents was held on Friday and Saturday in Beijing.

She vowed to enhance the service capabilities of minority medical organizations and strengthen the training of ethnic professionals.

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