Top health officials from the U.S. and China signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Monday to collaborate on research of integrative and traditional Chinese medicine.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Mike Leavitt joined Chinese Vice Minister of Health Wang Guoqiang to formalize the understanding, which marked the opening of a two-day traditional Chinese medicine “Research Roundtable” at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The roundtable featured scientific presentations by researchers from China and the U.S. on topics that included the synthesis of Western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine; criteria for evaluating traditional Chinese medicine practices; and the application of modern scientific tools such as proteomics (the study of proteins) to the study of traditional Chinese medicine.

According to HHS, participants included a delegation from the Chinese State Administration on Traditional Chinese Medicine, academics from U.S. universities, and scientists and researchers from NIH, Indian Health Service and FDA.

“The difference between TCM and Western medicine typifies the challenge of working cooperatively with the Chinese; two different philosophies and two different systems. Neither should attempt to change the other, but rather to make our systems interoperable,” Mr. Leavitt wrote in his blog following a recent trip to China.

In the U.S., traditional Chinese medicine is an alternative medical system considered a part of complementary and alternative medicine. Integrative medicine combines mainstream medical practices with alternative medical practices.

“This project will advance our understanding of when and how to appropriately integrate traditional Chinese medicine with Western medical approaches to improve the health of the American and Chinese people,” Mr. Leavitt said.

FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach, MD, joined Mr. Leavitt at the signing, along with Josephine Briggs, MD, director of the National Cancer Institute’s Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine and the Fogarty International, which coordinated the roundtable.