*EPF510 04/23/2004
Text: U.S., China Cooperating on Food Safety, Animal and Plant Health
(Agriculture Department April 22 press release) (360)

Secretary of Agriculture Ann M. Veneman and Chinese Minister for the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine Li Changjiang have signed an agreement establishing a consultative mechanism on food safety and animal and plant health issues, according to an April 22 news release from the Department of Agriculture.

Following is the text of the release:

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United States Department of Agriculture
Foreign Agricultural Service

USDA AND CHINA AGREE TO FURTHER COOPERATION ON FOOD SAFETY AND ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH

WASHINGTON, April 22, 2004

Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman and Li Changjiang, China's Minister for the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, agreed to establish a consultative mechanism on food safety and animal and plant health issues.
The signing came after three days of high-level talks between U.S. and Chinese officials in Washington this week with the meeting of the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade where the two nations discussed a wide range of economic and trade issues.

"China is an increasingly important market for U.S. food and agricultural products," said Agricultural Secretary Ann M. Veneman. "The value of agricultural exports to China have nearly tripled in the past two years. China now takes nearly ten percent of total U.S. food and agricultural exports."

The agreement is the first step in a process that will strengthen technical cooperation and exchanges in the fields of food safety and animal and plant health. The United States and China will exchange information on laws and regulations and identify issues of mutual interest and work to address them. There will also be personnel exchanges at the technical level, seminars and training, and cooperative research on common problems.

"As members of the World Trade Organization, our two countries are committed to adhering to and promoting the WTO sanitary and phytosanitary agreement," said Veneman. "As our agricultural trade continues to grow and thrive, we must make every effort to quickly identify and address differences to maintain trade."
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PR 0074-04

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(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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