A draft law put before China’s top legislature will strengthen regulations over the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) industry while simultaneously promoting it through various government branches.

Now in its second reading before the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, the proposed law will see stronger management of farms used for TCM herb cultivation, better environmental protection for herb-growing regions, enhanced safety during processing and improved research on TCM theories and techniques.

The new law is not a condemnation of TCM practices; instead, it contains a general principle that  encourages innovation in TCM and promotes its use. Governments are to integrate TCM development into their plans for national economic and social development, and incorporate necessary funds into local fiscal budgets, according to the draft.

Proponents of traditional Chinese medicine in China have often clashed with critics.

Earlier this month, the China Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine lashed out at a Chinese think tank for proposing that the practice of farming bile from live black bears be stopped.

In 2014, a skeptic attempting to debunk some of the more arcane practices of TCM resulted in a showdown of Eastern versus Western medicine. But when a leading TCM practitioner failed to diagnos a pregnant woman by her heartbeat alone, a practice upheld by TCM theories, the national authority on TCM tried to quash the controversy by labeling such contests as “meaningless“.

Meanwhile, the illegal consumption of endangered animal parts, a practice also upheld by TCM theories, continues n China despite multiple seizures by police.

Last month, over four kilograms of rhinoceros horn bound for China was nabbed from a passenger from Nambia. Last November, a three-month investigation by Beijing police culminated in the seizure of some 11 kilograms of rhinoceros horn.