Chongqing - Leveraging the rich resources of traditional Chinese medicine in the southeast and northeast regions of Chongqing, the goal is to cultivate a biomedical industry with unique local characteristics. This is the focus of Cao Zheng, deputy to the sixth Chongqing Municipal People's Congress, this year.

Over the past year, he extensively researched rural areas, proposing enhancing medical infrastructure and digitizing healthcare. This aims to elevate medical services in these communities and contribute to rural revitalization efforts.

Cao Zheng, deputy to the sixth Chongqing Municipal People's Congress (left), conducts field research in Chongqing's rural area. (Photo/cqnews.net)

As the deputy director of the Development and Reform Department at the Chongqing Academy of Animal Science, Cao has long been dedicated to rural industrial construction. 

Since 2021, he has drafted and mapped the development plans for 21 village industries in Longju Town, Wanzhou District, Chongqing, addressing critical issues in the existing industries and formulating targeted solutions and development plans for six leading industries.

Through his field research, Cao has identified the healthcare challenges faced by the middle-aged and elderly in rural areas. At last year's Chongqing Municipal People's Congress session, he proposed increasing investments in rural medical infrastructure and regularly dispatching professional medical personnel to village health stations for rotation and consultation. 

He also advocated digitizing village health stations, transforming them into remote outpatients of comprehensive hospitals, allowing villagers to receive medical treatment without leaving their villages.

At the upcoming second session of the sixth Chongqing Municipal People's Congress, Cao's proposals will focus on developing the rural biomedical industry. He believes that the traditional Chinese medicine resources in Chongqing's southeast and northeast regions are treasure-houses. He advocates for greater attention to the locally advantageous herbs such as Coptis, Perilla, Golden buckwheat, and Artemisia annua, with the Chongqing International Biomedical City to create a biomedical industry with Chongqing branding.

(Fan Hongyi, as an intern, also contributed to this report)