Reprinted from the official website of the Special Food Committee of the China Food Industry Association: Traditional Chinese Medicine Goes Global | Shen Xianli, Chairman of Wansongtang, Travels to Africa to Build a Market from Scratch

[Reprint Notice] This article is reprinted from the official website of the Special Food Committee of the China Food Industry Association. Original title: “Traditional Chinese Medicine Goes Global | Shen Xianli, Chairman of Wansongtang, Travels to Africa to Build a Market from Scratch,” original author: Jianfei, published on July 14, 2026. Original link: https://www.sfoods.cn/hang-ye-zi-xun/redianshipin/zhong-yi-yao-chu-hai-wan-song-tang-dong-shi-zhang-shen-xian/

That was already 11 years ago.

Shen Xianli has been an entrepreneur for roughly 20 years. Almost without realizing it, as chairman of the Wansongtang Group, he came across news on various platforms about Tu Youyou’s Nobel Prize win. In December 1995, in her acceptance speech, Tu Youyou highlighted the value of traditional Chinese medicine and referenced classic texts such as the “Shennong Ben Cao Jing”...

Suizhou is the ancestral home of Emperor Yan and Shennong. Shen Xianli was born here, grew up here, and launched his entrepreneurial journey here; moreover, many of the designated medicinal herb‑growing sites are located in this region as well…

Ingemar Ernberg, director of the Cancer Research Center at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute, stated: “Traditional Chinese medicine is a profound gift to the world and should be further explored and developed with the aid of modern science and technology.” Speaking about Tu Youyou’s groundbreaking achievements, a representative of the Nobel Committee for Physiology or Medicine noted that approximately 500,000 people worldwide die from malaria each year, the majority of them children. Chinese pharmacologist Tu Youyou studied ancient Chinese texts and pioneered the isolation of artemisinin from traditional herbal remedies. This discovery was subsequently incorporated into antimalarial drugs, saving millions of lives and halving malaria-related mortality over the past fifteen years.

Speaking candidly to Chinese journalists, Mats Wahlgren, a member of the Nobel Committee for Physiology or Medicine, stated: “Tu Youyou and her research team have made a tremendous contribution to the world through their scientific achievements rooted in traditional Chinese medicine—particularly by bringing benefits to developing countries, which is of great significance to people around the globe.”

To put it plainly, a significant portion of the “less developed countries” referred to here are located in Africa.

Data show that in Africa and other regions heavily affected by malaria, the drug developed under the leadership of Tu Youyou has saved millions of lives. In sub-Saharan Africa alone, since 2000, approximately 240 million people have benefited from artemisinin-based combination therapies, and around 1.5 million lives have been spared from death due to malaria.

At the time, Shen Xianli was utterly unaware that, many years later, the African continent would beckon to him from afar.

One

Shen Xianli, Chairman of Wansongtang Group

At the end of 2022, Shen Xianli became captivated by marathon running. As he ran, the pressures of post‑COVID market volatility, the question of where his company should go next, and whether annual growth would keep climbing or continue to plunge—all could be set aside, if only for a while.

As Black athletes began to win the marathon one after another, a thought flashed through his mind: seven years earlier, Tu Youyou had delivered her speech, and the African continent… Wansongtang Group exports to dozens of countries worldwide, yet Africa remains largely untapped.

At night, piles of African market data clutter Shen Xianli’s desk.

Africa covers approximately 30.2 million square kilometers, roughly three times the size of the United States, and accounts for one-fifth of the world’s total land area, making it the second-largest continent. Its resident population is about 1.2 billion, growing at an annual rate of 2.3%.

Upon seeing a set of data, his eyes lit up: Africa needs medicine.

Data show that Africa accounts for 15% of the global population, bears 25% of the world’s disease burden, yet consumes only 1% of global health resources. Approximately 70% of the medicines needed in Africa are imported. Between 2010 and 2013, nearly 80% of pharmaceutical imports in sub-Saharan Africa were classified as retail‑use medications, including antibiotics and vitamins. When raw‑material imports are included, this share rises to 83.3%.

More importantly, traditional Chinese medicine holds great potential. Since 2001, China’s exports of TCM products to Africa have been steadily increasing, and “Africa is the emerging market with the greatest growth potential for China’s pharmaceutical trade.”

Having purchased his ticket, on March 5, 2023—while the festive spirit of the Spring Festival still lingered—Shen Xianli flew to Kenya in East Africa.

Kenya borders Somalia to the east—where Chinese visitors often think of piracy—Tanzania to the south, Uganda to the west, and Ethiopia and South Sudan to the north. It also lies close to the Indian Ocean in the southeast. With a land area of 582,600 square kilometers, Kenya is roughly equivalent in size to the combined area of Sichuan Province and Chongqing Municipality. Its total population is approximately 47.56 million, comparable to that of China’s Yunnan Province.

By establishing a strategic foothold in Kenya, its products can be distributed throughout East Africa and reach the broader African market, enabling Wansongtang Group’s offerings to flow seamlessly across the continent.

Two

Upon returning to China, Shen Xianli hung an African map on the door of his office to demonstrate his determination to expand into the African market.

In 2026, the domestic market is mired in cutthroat competition, while breaking into the high-end European and American export markets remains extremely challenging. Meanwhile, the African market boasts a large customer base and solid fundamentals, with frequent success stories; yet it faces significant hurdles: intense price‑driven rivalry from competitors, rampant counterfeiting, and eroding control over end‑channel distribution…

With developments from all sides converging, everyone at Wansongtang Group felt as clear‑sighted as a polished mirror: they had to dispatch personnel to station themselves in Africa.

In February 2026, Shen Xianli selected just over ten candidates from among hundreds of employees across the entire group, offering salary increases and promotions as incentives. He conducted one-on-one interviews, intending to send them to Africa—but only a handful were willing to go.

Shen Xianli’s gaze was fixed on Nigeria in West Africa; it was a place of great importance—

This is the most populous country in Africa and the sixth-largest by population worldwide, with a total land area of 920,000 square kilometers—slightly larger than Venezuela and slightly smaller than Egypt, roughly equivalent to the combined area of China’s six provinces: Shandong, Henan, Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi. Its total population is approximately 227 million, slightly higher than Brazil’s and slightly lower than Pakistan’s, making it both Africa’s most populous nation and the world’s sixth-largest in terms of population. Nigeria’s GDP is comparable to that of Finland and Chile, while its per capita income is on par with India’s.

Deeply rooted in the African continent, Nigeria is at the forefront.

On February 23, the seventh day of the first lunar month, Shen Xianli resolved to lead a team to Nigeria.

On March 1, at the moment of departure, With the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East, Qatar Airways suspended operations, and all previously scheduled connecting flights through the region were canceled, forcing a temporary suspension of travel plans to Africa.

Adjusting the route and taking detours, On March 5, Shen Xianli finally set foot on the African continent. He wrote in his WeChat Moments: War cannot halt the journey, and hardship cannot stand in the way of progress. We have arrived safely at our destination, Lagos, Africa—everything is well!

At 5:30 p.m. local time, the temperature was around 35 degrees. A family member asked online, “Is it safe there?” After a long pause, he replied honestly, “Well, how should I put it? If I say it’s unsafe, this place is thousands of miles away from the Middle Eastern battlefields—there’s no fighting here. But if I say it’s safe, it’s not covered under most insurance policies.”

Overall, Nigeria’s conditions are comparable to those of China in the 1980s. Shen Xianli said that returning to the early days of entrepreneurship not only reflects his own boundless enthusiasm but also symbolizes a return to the hardships of that pioneering era.

On March 6, he and two employees scouted potential warehouse locations. Local roads were heavily congested and dusty; the site visit took an hour, but the round trip consumed five hours—four of which were stuck in traffic. A single boxed meal cost 20 yuan, roughly comparable to prices back home, yet upgrading the food would quickly become expensive. That noon, the five of them ordered a simple meal: what would cost less than 500 yuan in China came to 1,200 yuan here, or 250 yuan per person.

A week had passed, and Shen Xianli recalled that he hadn’t eaten any fruit since arriving in Africa. That evening, he drove to the supermarket to shop, only to find the fruit section empty. On the way back, as their car swerved to avoid something, a cloud of dust rushed into the cabin, leaving everyone covered in grime and triggering a chorus of coughs. Back at their lodging, Shen Xianli hurried to shower, change clothes, and mop the floor. The locals warned him: “Be sure to drive the mosquitoes out before bed—those bites can have serious consequences.”

In the days that followed, Shen Xianli was busy visiting distributors, submitting advertising samples for approval, recruiting staff, and leasing a warehouse—everything went smoothly, except that the daily commute through traffic jams consumed most of his time: “It was so bad I started to question my life.” By March 29, everything was in place, but the shipment from China still hadn’t arrived.

Back home, Shen Xianli gets a haircut no more than once every two weeks, but in Africa, he hasn’t had one in over 20 days. He walked into a barbershop owned by a Chinese restaurateur and, just as he was asking for a price, the barber didn’t even lift his eyes: “150 yuan.”

Nigeria has relatively low labor costs, with monthly wages for employees hovering around 400 to 500 yuan. However, the cost of living is high and resources are scarce. Prices for food and shopping are roughly twice what they are back home, and convenience is limited. Perhaps the most challenging aspect is the unreliable electricity supply: power outages are frequent and intermittent. Hotels typically rely on diesel generators, which rumble loudly and emit thick black smoke that can be heard for miles, filling the air with the smell of diesel. Under normal circumstances, these generators kick on about ten times a day. Elevators are unaffected—though the hotel doesn’t even have one—so guests must climb up and down the stairs every day.

Three

Though the journey overseas was arduous, Shen Xianli knew it was the hard-won result of countless efforts by those who came before.

To this day, China continues to provide full support to Africa in its fight against the Ebola epidemic. A brief report recently aired by China Central Television carried a message of immense weight. In recent weeks, the Ebola outbreak has continued to spread in parts of Africa, with a grave and alarming situation; the World Health Organization has declared it a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern.” In response to the evolving epidemic and the needs of the African side, the Chinese government has decided to extend emergency humanitarian assistance to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and to dispatch a team of medical experts to provide on‑the‑ground medical care and support. At the same time, building on bilateral aid, China has also extended assistance to the African Union Commission and launched cooperation on epidemic prevention and control, supporting the work of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and jointly strengthening African countries’ capacity to combat the pandemic.

Righteousness as vast as the clouds, wholeheartedly upholding and supporting.

China has been dispatching medical teams to Africa since the early days of the People’s Republic of China and continues to do so today. With severe shortages and generally high prices for pharmaceuticals in Africa, traditional Chinese medicine products—known for their remarkable efficacy and affordability—are increasingly gaining popularity across the continent.

However, compared with Indian pharmaceutical exports to Africa, traditional Chinese medicine still accounts for a relatively small share within Africa’s public procurement systems.

Following Tu Youyou’s Nobel Prize, the standing of traditional Chinese medicine in Africa has risen sharply, evolving from a “single anti‑malaria remedy” to a fully recognized system of traditional medicine. In the past, TCM was often marginalized by the Western pharmaceutical community, which dismissed it as “unscientific.” Since then, African nations have championed TCM, gradually reclaiming its voice on the international stage.

After returning to China from Nigeria, Shen Xianli handled the necessary formalities and then flew once again to Kenya to expand into the African market.

Behind the international outreach of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners like Shen Xianli lies a legacy of mutual exchange: “As early as the third century AD, Chinese products such as musk, rhubarb, poria, and bezoar made their way into Africa, while African commodities like frankincense, myrrh, ambergris, aloe vera, and agarwood found their way into China”—a gesture of reciprocation. It also includes the story of Zheng He, who embarked on seven voyages to the Western Seas and paid four visits to Africa; during his passage through Kenya, he taught local residents techniques such as tuina massage and cupping, practices that are still preserved today on Pate Island. And it encompasses the unwavering dedication of Tu Youyou and Chinese medical personnel, who risked their own health to test new remedies, thereby saving hundreds of thousands of patients from the brink of death.

Traditional Chinese medicine has a presence in 183 countries and regions worldwide, with over 300,000 TCM clinics operating across the globe. In 18 countries and regions, TCM has been integrated into national health insurance systems. Herbal medicine products have benefited 4 billion people, and the industry’s annual turnover amounts to hundreds of billions of yuan—growing at an annual rate of 10% to 20%. According to a McKinsey report, Africa’s pharmaceutical market is expected to expand at an average annual growth rate of 10% to 14% over the next few years.

Shen Xianli’s ambitious vision for taking traditional Chinese medicine global encompasses not only deepening its presence in the African market but also launching a brand in Australia and expanding into cross‑border e‑commerce in the Americas.

He is well aware that the essence of traditional Chinese medicine’s global outreach lies in the profound alignment between the wisdom of China’s traditional medical system and the demands of contemporary global public health governance.

He who helps others succeeds; he who uplifts others elevates himself.

After all, those who have stood in the rain always want to hold an umbrella for others.