A senior Chinese official has pledged to support and develop traditional Chinese medicines (TCM) firmly and vigorously as it is facing a new of period of development with enormous opportunities.

Vice Premier Wu Yi made the remarks on Thursday at a technical competition of the Traditional Chinese Medicine of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA).

In her speech, the official praised the Army for its contribution to developing and utilizing the TCM.

The TCM is a treasure of the Chinese culture and a crystal of the Chinese civilization, which has contributed a lot to the prosperity of the Chinese nation, said Wu, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee.

She called for being innovative in inheriting the TCM, while absorbing achievements of Western medicines and other medicines of ethnic minorities in the country.

Moreover, the official said, greater efforts should be made to bring all people, including both urbanites and rural people, under the service of the TCM.

(Xinhua News Agency August 31, 2007)