LANZHOU -- A batch of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been shipped to Belarus from northwest China's Gansu province to aid the country's fight against the COVID-19.

A shipment of 8,000 boxes of granules, manufactured by the Gansu Provincial Hospital of TCM, has departed for Belarus at the request of the Embassy of the Republic of Belarus in China.

According to Zhang Zhiming, head of the hospital, TCM medicaments have played a unique role in treating COVID-19 patients and have significantly reduced the incidence of severe and critical illness.

Gansu is a major TCM production base in China and has a long history of growing herbs used in the Chinese system of medicine. TCM has been widely applied to treating COVID-19 patients in China and has been proved effective.

The province is also coping with a recent resurgence of the epidemic, with 140 local confirmed cases reported between Oct. 18 and Nov. 7.

"We have adjusted our prescriptions based on the changes of the virus and climate. And TCM has played a vital role in the treatment of confirmed cases," said Zhang.

"We're willing to share our experience with physicians in Belarus, as COVID-19 is a global threat," said Ma Cong, deputy director of the Gansu Provincial Foreign Affairs Office.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020, Gansu has donated 39,000 boxes of TCM granules to Belarus. The province has also helped set up a TCM center there, providing medical services to local people.