China and Pakistan Establish Collaborative Herbal Medicine Laboratory to Enhance Traditional Medicine Partnership

The official launch of the Zhejiang-Pakistan Joint Laboratory on R&D of Herbal Medicine at the 2026 International Symposium on Traditional Chinese Medicine–Unani Medicine Cooperation and SCO Member States Traditional Medicine Industry Exchange Forum in Ningbo, Zhejiang, on June 4 marked a milestone in the scientific cooperation between China and Pakistan.

The Joint Laboratory is an international science and technology cooperation platform at the provincial level, recognised by the Department of Science and Technology of Zhejiang Province in December 2025. It was developed jointly with the Institute of Drug Discovery Technology of Ningbo University, in cooperation with the Faculty of Medicine of Ningbo University and Ningbo Kangning Hospital.

The partners from the Pakistani side are the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of Karachi and the University of Lahore.

Professor Zhao Yufen, member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and dean of the Institute of Drug Discovery Technology at Ningbo University, is the chair of the Academic Committee of the Joint Laboratory. The Chinese director is Professor Liu Xinmin from the Institute of Drug Discovery Technology, and the Pakistani director is Professor Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary, head scientist at the University of Karachi and the University of Lahore.

The laboratory is staffed by a team of 50 members, 30 of whom are Chinese researchers and 20 are overseas researchers. The team covers interdisciplinary fields including Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Unani Medicine, pharmacy, medicine, biology, chemistry, artificial intelligence, and policy and regulation, CEN said.

The joint laboratory is devoted to preclinical research of TCM, clinical research of TCM, international registration of relevant products, as well as academic exchanges and talent training.

During the occasion, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Traditional Medicine Industry Alliance (SCO-TMIA) and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Ministerial Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (OIC-COMSTECH) signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in areas related to Traditional Chinese Medicine and Unani Medicine, including clinical research on traditional medicine, policy and regulatory research, registration facilitation, and capacity building