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U.S.: China makes some concessions, more work needed

The Agriculture Department and China's Ministry of Agriculture are finalizing the framework of a five-year strategic plan focused on food security, food safety and sustainable agriculture to build a stronger foundation for critical cooperation in agriculture.

China made several concessions to open its markets, but “much more work remains to be done to open China’s markets to U.S. exports and investment,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk and Commerce Secretary John Bryson said today after the conclusion of a meeting of the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade in Chengdu, China.

China and the United States agreed to expand discussion beyond technical to the conditions that include scope of products available in the market, Vilsack said in a news release. China also committed to make progress on removing avian influenza-related bans affecting several U.S. states, to finalize work on a longstanding market access request for U.S. pears, and to complete work on a new dairy certificate to maintain existing market access, he added.

“China is one of the most important agricultural trade partners for the United States and the meetings and discussions in recent days have helped to strengthen this partnership and build greater export opportunities for our farmers, ranchers and growers," Vilsack said.

"We intend to continue these discussions in the months ahead on beef and other agricultural products to break down additional trade barriers so Chinese consumers can benefit from the high quality products that are produced in America."