BEIJING -- Chinese health authorities have issued a guideline to give full play to the role of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in the prevention and treatment of new outbreaks of infectious diseases.

The guideline, released by the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, also aims to promote the use of TCM in the emergency management of public health incidents.

TCM has played an important role in China's fight against COVID-19.

The management of the national TCM emergency medical team will be strengthened and its emergency treatment capability will be improved, the guideline reads.

The TCM emergency medical team consists of the national TCM disease prevention and control group and the national TCM emergency medical rescue group, it says.

A coordination mechanism will be established with the National Health Commission to dispatch the national TCM emergency medical team, in order to ensure TCM's prompt response to new infectious diseases.