On May 31, 2019, the Beijing People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (the BPAFFC) arranged a visit to Dongfang Hospital affiliated to the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine for the delegation from Acupuncture New Zealand (ANZ). The two sides exchanged ideas on acupuncture and moxibustion at the hospital.
The eight-member New Zealand delegation was led by Angie Harding, vice president of the World Federation Acupuncture Societies and president of ANZ, and Heiko Lade, vice president of the New Zealand China Friendship Society (NZCFS). The delegation exchanged ideas with their counterparts at Dongfang Hospital, including Cao Jianchun, director of Administrative Office, and Hu Hui, director of Acupuncture & Moxibustion Department. They had an in-depth discussion on acupuncture, including its latest development, technical R&D, wide-range applications, combination with other therapies and the similarities and differences in regulating medical acupuncture between China and New Zealand. The delegation also reached a preliminary cooperation intention with the hospital on sending New Zealand students to study at the hospital and importing acupuncture medicine and medical apparatus. They also invited Chinese specialists to New Zealand for further exchanges. After the meeting, the delegation visited the Acupuncture Clinic and experienced various acupuncture-moxibustion therapies, such as bamboo cupping and fire cupping.
At the invitation of the BPAFFC, the delegation visited Beijing this time to attend the 2019 Taiji-Beijing International Health-building Exchange. In addition to the event, the BPAFFC arranged this exchange between the delegation and Dongfang to promote the profound traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) culture and TCM’s going global, as well as enhancing pragmatic TCM exchanges between China and New Zealand. The exchange adds TCM into the cooperation fields between the BPAFFC and ANZ following their exchange programs in environment protection, engineering and law.
