China and African countries suggested on Thursday that a liaison mechanism be set up for sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) cooperation, to further harmonize inspection and quarantine standards and procedures, to facilitate African exports of agri-food products to China.
The initiative was presented at a forum on China-Africa sanitary and phytosanitary cooperation, held in Changsha, in the central Chinese province of Hunan, on the sidelines of the third China-Africa trade fair.
The Chinese customs administration, quoted by the media, said that it would deepen cooperation on inspection and quarantine with the appropriate government departments of African countries and optimize procedures for assessing market access for African agri-food products exported to China.
According to government data, the volume of agricultural trade between China and Africa rose from 33.3 billion yuan ($4.6 billion) in 2012 to 58.6 billion yuan in 2022, with an average annual growth rate of 5.8%.
In the first five months of this year, trade volume jumped 20.4% year-on-year to 26.6 billion yuan.
The Chinese administration has indicated that it will continue to expand the list of African agri-food products exported to China to promote the overall development of Sino-African trade and maintain the stability of industrial and supply chains.