BEIJING: A significant milestone in China-Pakistan scientific collaboration was achieved on Thursday (June 4) with the official inauguration of the Zhejiang-Pakistan Joint Laboratory on Herbal Medicine R&D at the 2026 International Symposium on Traditional Chinese Medicine – Unani Medicine Cooperation and Traditional Medicine Industry Exchange Forum of SCO Member States in Ningbo, Zhejiang.
The Joint Laboratory is a provincial-level international science and technology cooperation platform approved by the Department of Science and Technology of Zhejiang Province in December 2025. It was established on the basis of the Institute of Drug Discovery Technology of Ningbo University, in collaboration with the School of Medicine of Ningbo University and Ningbo Kangning Hospital.
On the Pakistani side, partner institutions include the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences at the University of Karachi and the University of Lahore.
Professor Zhao Yufen, a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and dean of the Institute of Drug Discovery Technology of Ningbo University, chairs the academic committee of the joint laboratory. Professor Liu Xinmin of the Institute of Drug Discovery Technology is the Chinese director, while Professor Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary, chief scientist at the University of Karachi and the University of Lahore, is the Pakistani director.
The laboratory brings together a total of 50 team members, including 30 Chinese researchers and 20 foreign researchers, covering interdisciplinary fields such as traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), Unani medicine, pharmacy, medicine, biology, chemistry, artificial intelligence, and policy and regulation. CEN reported.
The joint laboratory’s research priorities include preclinical studies on traditional Chinese medicine, clinical studies on TCM, international registration of related products, as well as academic exchanges and talent training.
On this occasion, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Traditional Medicine Industry Alliance (SCO-TMIA) and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Standing Ministerial Committee on Science and Technology Cooperation (OCI-COMSTECH) signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate in areas related to traditional Chinese medicine and Unani medicine, including traditional medicine clinical research, policy and regulatory research, registration facilitation, as well as capacity building and talent cultivation regarding the regulation of traditional medicine.
