BEIJING: China’s food trade with countries along the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has seen remarkable growth, reaching 553.82 billion yuan ($76.10 billion) in the first eight months of this year.
This marks a 10.4 percent increase compared to the same period last year and an impressive 162 percent surge since 2013, according to officials speaking at the inaugural conference on import and export food safety cooperation within the Belt and Road.
More than 100 representatives and officials from over 20 BRI countries participated in the conference held in Nanning, South China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, as reported by the Global Times on Saturday.
The conference aimed to establish a new platform for international cooperation and governance in food safety among BRI participant countries.
Belt and Road Food Trade and Safety Initiative
During the conference, a BRI food safety cooperation initiative was adopted to enhance practical collaboration, exchange regulatory experiences, and advance the creation of scientifically grounded international rules and standards.
China’s customs department has actively worked with BRI countries in recent years to enhance food safety governance, resulting in an expansion and diversification of cooperation.
By June of this year, China had inked over 200 cooperation agreements related to the Belt and Road Initiative with 152 countries and 32 international organizations. This has led to a substantial growth in the variety and volume of food trade, according to Lü Weihong, deputy chief of the General Administration of Customs, who spoke at the conference.
Over the past decade, China has established customs inspection and quarantine cooperation with 171 countries and regions, signing nearly 400 international cooperation agreements concerning agricultural and food product access, Lü added.
As a result of this closer collaboration between customs authorities, an increasing array of distinctive and characteristic foods from BRI countries are finding their way into the Chinese market. In 2022, China’s trade in food products with BRI nations reached 786.31 billion yuan, marking a 135.3 percent increase compared to 2013.
