The Egyptian Chinese University in Cairo (ECU) started a two-day conference on Sunday to promote the traditional Chinese medicine in Egypt and integrate it into the Egyptian medical system.

Dubbed "the International Conference of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Functional Medicine," the opening day of the conference was attended by representatives of the ECU, China's Shanghai Jiao Tong University and the Chinese Embassy in Egypt, as well as Egyptian and Chinese professors.

During the conference, Ashraf el-Shihy, ECU president and former higher education minister, and Bao Yong, dean of health management and service innovation center of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, signed an agreement to establish Egypt Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

"The conference marks a new beginning for the continuous cooperation between the ECU, the only Chinese university in the Middle East and Africa, and Chinese scientific universities and institutions," the ECU president told Xinhua on the sidelines of the conference.