If nothing changes, it could be that in 30 years, the Chinese would have to learn from foreigners about TCM, warned Wang Guoqiang, who heads the State Administration of TCM.

In Wang's opinion, the issues foreign experts study when it comes to acupuncture are quite basic for most Chinese researchers.

"They just know better about the lab research design and methods," he said.

Chinese are also capable of doing high-level research into TCM including acupuncture, up to internationally recognized standards and having more theses indexed by SCI, he said.

Some TCM experts have warned that following this course could hurt TCM's characteristics. Wang, however, disagreed.

"Explaining well why and how TCM works internationally also helps Chinese researchers deepen their understanding of the medical science," he said.

Nicola Robinson, editor-in-chief of the European Journal of Integrative Medicine, urged Chinese TCM experts to do more research into TCM based on lab evidence.

Although it is practiced in more than 160 countries, acupuncture has not been integrated into national health services in most of these countries, largely because the lab-based evidence is not good enough, she said.

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