On September 27, 2025, the launch meeting and the first meeting of the Academic Committee of the "Yunnan International Joint Laboratory of Health Plant Resources Development" (HPRD Lab) project were held at the Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). Supported by the Key R&D Program of Yunnan Provincial Department of Science and Technology, the laboratory is led by the Kunming Institute of Botany (KIB), CAS, with the participation of Chiang Mai University in Thailand for joint construction. The establishment of this laboratory is not only a crucial measure for Yunnan to deepen international scientific and technological cooperation and serve the construction of the "Healthy Silk Road", but also marks that the collaborative innovation between China and Thailand in the field of plant resources for big health has entered a stage of substantive cooperation.
Strong Foundation for China-Thailand Cooperation: Combined Geographical Advantages and Scientific Research Strengths
As China's radiation center facing South and Southeast Asia, Yunnan is one of the global biodiversity hotspots, boasting over 19,000 species of higher plants. Among them, a large number of medicinal plants and plants with both medicinal and edible values have a long history of application in the traditional medicine of China and Thailand, and they are the common ecological and cultural treasures of the two sides. The joint establishment of the laboratory by China and Thailand is based on Yunnan's unique advantages of geographical proximity, similar ecology and cultural connection with Thailand, as well as the complementary scientific research strengths of the two sides in the health field. KIB has accumulated decades of scientific research experience in ethnobotany and the exploration and utilization of plant resources, while Chiang Mai University in Thailand has significant advantages in tropical plant research, health food development and regional market connection.
The Academic Committee of the laboratory has brought together top domestic and foreign experts, including 8 Chinese and foreign scholars such as Prof. Shengji Pei from KIB, Prof. Henrik Balslev from Aarhus University in Denmark, Prof. Michael Heinrich from the School of Pharmacy, University of London in the UK, and Prof. Panee Sirisa-ard from Chiang Mai University in Thailand, Prof. Minhui Li from Baotou Medical College in China, Prof. Yanfeng Liu from Jiangnan University in China, Prof. Yunheng Ji and Prof. Minghua Qiu from KIB. It will provide high-level academic guidance for calibrating the laboratory's research directions and evaluating major projects, ensuring that the research results are both scientific and applicable.
Focusing on Three Core Tasks to Solve Key International Problems
According to Dr. Yao Ruyu, the person in charge of the laboratory project from KIB, HPRD Lab will focus on addressing the common issues in the international development of plant resources for health between China and Thailand, and prioritize the promotion of three core tasks:
1. Building a cross-border resource research network and database: Through joint investigations, it plans to systematically sort out the list of traded varieties of plant resources for health between China and Thailand, clarify the species origin and commodity circulation paths of important traded varieties such as agarwood, and finally establish a core database of plant resources for health in China and Thailand covering more than 1,100 plant species, so as to provide data support for the efficient utilization of cross-border resources.
2. Breaking through trade bottlenecks and technological barriers: For key traded varieties like agarwood, joint research will be conducted on the mechanism of quality formation, the artificial agarwood formation production technology will be promoted, and quality evaluation standards will be formulated to solve the quality control problems in bilateral trade. Meanwhile, taking Panax notoginseng, a characteristic resource of Yunnan, as a pilot, research on the conversion and productization of rare ginsenosides will be carried out, and end products that meet Thailand's health food standards will be developed to promote the transformation of "Yunnan resources" into "regional achievements".
3. Building an international scientific research and talent team: The laboratory will establish a growth-oriented research team featuring "guidance by senior experts and leadership by young scientists". Relying on the introduction of foreign experts, multi-level talent cultivation, personnel exchange visits, the conduct of scientific research training and the holding of international conferences, a professional talent team and an international exchange and cooperation platform will be built to provide solid intellectual support and achievement reserves for the long-term development of the field.
Policy Support to Become a Benchmark for Regional Cooperation
Prof. Jianqiang Wu, Deputy Director of KIB, stated at the launch meeting that the construction of the laboratory is fully in line with the development directions of the 14th Five-Year Plan for Scientific and Technological Innovation of Yunnan Province and the Action Plan for Accelerating the Construction of a Science and Technology Innovation Center Facing South and Southeast Asia. It is a vivid practice of Yunnan's implementation of the international science and technology cooperation concept of "open sharing, mutual benefit and win-win results". KIB will fully support the construction and development of HPRD Lab, coordinate to solve difficulties in the implementation of the project, and promote the laboratory to become a benchmark for Yunnan's international joint innovation platforms. He emphasized that the establishment of the laboratory is not only the inheritance and deepening of the traditional friendship between China and Thailand, but also will take plant resources as a link to promote the in-depth integration of scientific and technological innovation with people's livelihood needs, empower the health and well-being of the people of the two countries, and inject new vitality into the sustainable development of the regional health industry.
At the launch meeting, representatives from China and Thailand jointly unveiled the laboratory and reached a consensus on the implementation plans of the first batch of 4 research projects. In the next step, in accordance with the sustainable development path of "protection - research - development - sharing", HPRD Lab will accelerate the advancement of resource surveys, technological R&D and achievement transformation. It strives to build an international highland for the research of plant resources for big health based in Yunnan, facing Thailand and radiating South and Southeast Asia within 3 years, and contribute "China-Thailand wisdom" to regional scientific and technological cooperation and industrial upgrading.
Group Photo of the Launch Meeting for the International Joint Laboratory Project (Taken by Wu Guomao, September 27, 2025)
Prof. Jianqiang Wu from KIB and Prof. Yuthana Phimolsiripol from Chiang Mai University Jointly Unveiled the HPRD Lab (Taken by Wu Guomao, September 27, 2025)
Dr. Ruyu Yao, Chinese Project Leader of HPRD Lab Awarded the Plaque to Dr. Angkhana Inta, the Representatives from Chiang Mai University, Thailand (Taken by Wu Guomao, September 27, 2025)