China May Approve US Beef, Following US Approving China Processing Chickens for US Markets (Watch Out)

China may soon be open to U.S. beef imports, officials announced after a Dec. 20 meeting of the U.S.–China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade.

The deal has been years in the making, and experts said it was part of a tradeoff to open the United States to Chinese chicken imports.

The move comes after the USDA approved China to process chickens for the U.S. market in August. Audits are also underway that may approve China to raise and slaughter chickens for sale in the United States.

The move also comes amid a resurgence of H5N1 avian flu in China. On Dec. 17, the spokesman of Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Center warned people traveling to mainland China to take health precautions. Many countries ban Chinese chicken due to avian flu, including Pakistan, the Philippines, Malaysia, Ukraine, Germany, and Japan.

U.S. and Chinese envoys agreed to “promote U.S. beef exports to China,” a Chinese deputy commerce minister, Wang Chao, said at a Dec. 20 press conference.

Chao gave no details on how the two sides would promote U.S. beef, The Associated Press reported. A deputy at the agriculture ministry, Niu Dun, said they would also work on technical issues, but gave no estimation on when the market would open.

China banned U.S. beef imports in 2003, after a case of mad cow disease in Washington state. The move started a trade war with the United States, and Chinese leaders sought to pressure the United States to allow Chinese chicken imports in exchange for reopening the beef market.

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