China: Industry Completes Week of Fact Finding/Relationship Building

CIQA’s Ge Zhirong and USMEF’s Philip Seng signed a memorandum of cooperation between the two organizations as USMEF Chairman Steve Isaf looked on

U.S. red meat industry leaders wrapped up a week of meetings and visits with various Chinese government and industry red meat stakeholders in Beijing last Friday as part of an overall effort to advance understanding and dialogue on critical bilateral meat trade issues.

The third annual China Leadership Team (CLT) brought together representatives from Cargill, Hormel, JBS, Seaboard and Smithfield as well as USMEF senior staff to meet with officials from China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) and the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Foodstuffs, Native Produce and Animal By-Products (CFNA), among others.

The resulting discussions and briefings from the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service in Beijing provided insights into current red meat trade issues, including the status of U.S. beef access, official People’s Republic of China (PRC) attitudes toward beta agonists, Chinese actions toward U.S. facilities involved in import violations and access for U.S. processed meat.

Chinese officials expressed a willingness to restart the U.S. beef trade, noting current high domestic prices and limited supplies. Both sides also acknowledged progress in recent government-to-government talks on technical issues including U.S. processed meat access and the development of transparent “early warning” procedures for handling of noncompliant product.

The U.S. industry has appealed for this transparency after experiencing sudden plant delistings. China has intensified its border testing for beta agonists despite the implementation this spring of a requirement that importers submit lab reports attesting that each shipment of U.S. pork is free of ractopamine.

In addition to meetings with Chinese government officials, CLT members also built relationships with their Chinese counterparts, dining with the leadership of COFCO Meat, visiting the Port of Tianjin and touring Beijing-based Qianxihe’s pork slaughter and processing facility, a subsidiary of Chinese feed and processing giant New Hope Liuhe.

USMEF’s Philip Seng addresses the “Food Safety Policies, Practices and Performance” summit in Beijing

On Friday, Sept. 27, USMEF brought together hog-industry leaders from China and the United States for the Second Annual Swine Industry Summit in Beijing. The conference was organized by a strong coalition of American and Chinese industry associations including USMEF, the U.S. Grains Council (USGC), the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC), the China Animal Agriculture Association (CAAA) and the China Meat Association (CMA).

Both the USDA and China’s Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) supported this year’s summit, “Food Safety Practices, Policies, and Performance.” High-level government leaders addressed issues of concern to both American and Chinese industries: the evolution of live hog and pork food safety policy making in both countries; the economic benefits of and roles of regulators, industry, academia and consumers in forming an integrated approach to food safety; and food safety practices of industries from producer to processor.

Speakers included Assistant Administrator of the USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) Daniel Englejohn, former Vice-Minister of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) and current State Counselor and Chairman of China Entry & Exit Inspection and Quarantine Association (CIQA) Ge Zhirong, as well as officials from MOA, the Chinese Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) and the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science (CAAS). Executives from major American and Chinese meat processing companies were also in attendance, with Shuanghui Group President Zhang Taixi taking questions at the Summit in his first public appearance following his company’s acquisition of Smithfield Foods the day before.

During the week, USMEF inked a memorandum of cooperation with CIQA to strengthen ties between the two organizations and provide assistance to each association’s private company members to understand and operate under the meat import regulations of China. USMEF will also provide information to CIQA about U.S. food safety and other industry regulations relevant to improving bilateral meat trade.