The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine is part of the National Institutes of Health. Its role is to explore complementary and alternative healing practices in the context of rigorous science. While in Beijing early this month, I had experiences that added to my instinct that there is value to be gained in understanding traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) better.

The first experience was meeting the new Minister of Health for China, Chen Zhu. He brings a reputation as a world class scientist to his post. In addition to our meetings at the Strategic Economic Dialogue, Chen and I had breakfast on December 12. It gave us an opportunity to talk about areas of cooperation. It also provided a chance for me to get to know him on a more personal level.

I asked Chen to tell me more about his youth. He told me that despite having parents who were both physicians in urban areas, during the difficult days of the "cultural revolution" (1966-1976), Chen was required by the government to live in very poor areas of China, working on the land until his adolescence. Those experiences clearly gave him sensitivity to the plight of the poor and underserved. During that time he taught himself English by comparing the English and Chinese versions of Mao's Red Book. He later became a physician and medical researcher of some renown, becoming a member of the National Academy of Sciences in France and China.