China May Approve Several Biotech Crop Traits Sooner Than Later

According to Politico, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce says that China may announce the approval of seven biotech crop traits this week during a state visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The cotton, four soybean and two corn varieties that have been languishing in China’s approval process for up to four years… those seven traits are considered to be the likeliest candidates because they are in the final phase of the Chinese approval system.

But what farm groups want most of all is a pledge from China that it will make structural changes to its process and speed up approvals, according to Politico.

This announcement comes in light of a recent letter to the White House from the Senate Finance Committee and House Ways and Means Committee leaders urging President Obama to call on China to bolster regulatory transparency in China which includes the approvals of several ag biotech products. According to U.S. Inside Trade, the lawmakers stated that “China and the United States both have enormous responsibilities to the global economy, but recent developments suggest that China is not fulfilling that responsibility.”