Minister of Agriculture Du Qinglin said Monday that safety control
measures on gene-modified agricultural products will not affect
international trade.
Du
told a press conference at the First Session of the 10th National
People's Congress that on March 20 last year, the Chinese
government implemented a regulatory ordinance on gene-modified
agricultural products and promulgated a few supporting regulations,
including the mark management, safety appraisal, and import
ratification, among others.
He
said that the ordinance aims to protect biological environment and
human health, protect the safety of animals, plants and
microorganism, as well as protecting consumers' legal rights and
interests.
He
promised that China is able to carry out farmland tests on
gene-modified agricultural products considering the countries
diversified climate features.
He
stressed that the safety appraisal, import ratification and mark
management are not pointed at a certain country or a certain
species, and that all countries and species are treated equal.
(Xinhua News Agency March 10, 2003)
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