China is speeding up its registration and application procedures for the import of African agricultural produce, Beijing said on Tuesday.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks at a regular press briefing in Beijing in response to a question about China-Africa agricultural cooperation.
A farmer sprays pesticide chemicals in a cotton field in Chikwawa, Malawi, on Feb. 25, 2021. (File photo: Xinhua)
The General Administration of Customs has implemented measures to facilitate green channel access for African agricultural product exports since the eighth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in November, Wang noted.
The ministry spokesperson outlined three measures: First, priority is being given to applications by African countries for their agricultural produce. Second, risk assessment has been expedited for similar agricultural products from different countries or agricultural goods from the same country with similar processing methods. Third, African companies can register faster if their agricultural products are permitted for import by China.
“The Chinese government attaches importance to strengthening China-Africa agricultural cooperation and actively promotes the import of agricultural products from Africa,” he said.
Since the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in 2018, 25 types of agricultural and food products from 14 African countries including Kenya, South Africa, Benin and Egypt have gained import permission from China, Wang said.
“China is the second-largest destination country for African agricultural exports, with an average annual export growth rate of 11.4 percent in recent years,” he said. “The year 2021 saw an 18.2 percent year-on-year increase in the value of African agricultural exports to China.”
Chinese authorities will hold a sanitary and phytosanitary cooperation forum between the two sides to facilitate the entry of more high-quality African agricultural and food products, the ministry spokesperson said.
(Compiled by Zhu Yingqi and Wang Jiarui; Video edited by Zhu Yingqi)