US: China agrees to end ban on US beef

Apr 12, 2006, 6:19 GMT

Washington - The Chinese government has agreed to end its ban on US beef imports, US officials said Tuesday after meeting with a Chinese delegation in Washington to discuss trade.

China also agreed to provide more access to its market for American business and to improve the protection of intellectual property rights, according to a statement posted on the US Department of Agriculture website.

'I am pleased to announce that China conditionally agreed to resume imports of US beef,' Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said. 'We will work quickly to finalize the terms of this market opening.'

The Chinese government said it would require computer owners to use legal software and to close plants that produce pirated music and films as part of negotiations that lasted six months, the statement said.

The agreement comes ahead of Chinese President Hu Jintao's meeting with President George W Bush on April 20 in Washington, and seeks to alleviate a series of US concerns about Chinese trade policies.

The United States exported 100 million dollars worth of beef to China in 2003, before shipments were halted when the first case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, so-called mad-cow disease, was discovered in a US cow.

'This decision comes after lengthy technical discussions and is based on evidence that our safeguards work and that science supports the safety of US beef,' Johanns said.