Chinese medicine has been used for centuries to treat a range of health conditions.This history has produced a wealth of classical literature,case studies and clinical research data detailing its use and effectiveness.However,high-quality and conclusive evidence that meets modern requirements for clinical decision support is lacking.This evidence gap limits the integration of Chinese medicine with contemporary medicine,which in turn limits global access and acceptance of Chinese medicine as a form of safe and effective health care.Over the past 20 years,researchers and organisations around the world,including the World Health Organization(WHO)and United Nations,have worked to support the integration of traditional medicines,such as Chinese medicine,with conventional medicines to improve global health care.This paper provides an overview of Chinese medicine studies published in the top four general medical journals(BMJ,JAMA,Lancet and New England Journal of Medicine)from February 2005 to February 2024 in the past 20 years to highlight the progress in the development of this evidence base.It also highlights key actions taken to promote evidence-based clinical Chinese medicine,including product and practitioner regulation,formalising education standards,and international collaborations.Research conducted at the China-Australia International Research Centre for Chinese Medicine demonstrates the benefits of such a collaboration.Through development of its unique and inclusive'whole-evidence'approach,plus clinical studies and systematic reviews,the Centre has significantly contributed to the evidence base for clinical Chinese medicine.In addition,its high-impact papers and groundbreaking monographs have been cited in international conventional medicine guidelines.While progress has certainly been made during the past 20 years to build a stronger evidence base for clinical Chinese medicine,there is still a considerable gap that limits its integration with conventional medicine.Future funding and research are needed to continue this work and achieve to safe,effective and accessible traditional medicine as part of the WHO's Universal Health Coverage strategy.

The grading of evidence is an important factor in clinical decision-making. The current evidence grading system based on western medicine is limited in the clinical practice of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）， therefore we propose the solutions to the development of grading system for TCM interventional evidence， following the international evidence grading standards， taking into considerations of the unique characteristics of TCM practice， based on the Grades of recommendation， assessment， development and evaluation （GARDE） evaluation system， and integrating with grading system regarding TCM classical literature and empirical evidence from modern famous doctors. The evidence from classical literature is suggested to be evaluated from three aspects including source of ancient medical records， comprehensive of treatment details， and the inheritance. The qualification of famous doctors， content integrity， and inheritance of experiences will be used to evaluate the evidence from famous doctors' experience. The multi-sourced evidence such as TCM classical literature， experience of modern famous doctors， and modern researches is mainly integrated in a qualitative way， and the overall level of evidence of TCM interventions will be graded consistently with the GRADE system based on modern research. The evidence from classical literature and modern famous doctors' experience will be assessed and considered as supplementary evidence， which will make the evaluation of clinical evidence more objectively and comprehensively， thereby guiding clinical practice further.