Traditional Chinese medicine as a tool for improving China’s image: The role of socio-political factors

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to analyse the factors of influence of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) on improving the image of China in the international arena at the present stage of historical development. The methodological base of the study is built on the basis of an integrated approach with a combination of theoretical and empirical methods of cognition such as historical, comparative, system, statistical data analysis. Within the framework of the study, the main stages and features of the development of TCM, which has a thousand-year history, are considered, its basic principles and methods of therapy are formulated. In addition, the territory of distribution of TCM is determined, and the countries where it is most common are identified. Namely, the approximate number of TCM doctors and departments in medical institutions of the Republic of Kazakhstan is considered. Special attention is paid to determining the place of China in the modern international arena in the context of implementing the policy of “soft power”, considering the role of the Investment Project “One Belt, One Road” in improving the image of the state in the international arena, assessing the importance of TCM in the process of becoming a country as one of the world hegemons against the background of the coronavirus pandemic, and analysing the contribution of TCM to the preservation of human health and world culture. In particular, it is proved that although Chinese medicine differs from Western medicine in its global, comprehensive approach to treatment, its therapeutic techniques are increasingly being introduced into the healthcare system of Western states and other countries of the world, including the Central Asian region