By Gao Lanrong, The People's Daily

The Chinese government attaches great importance to the research on biotechnology and over 130 transgenic species involving more than 100 kinds of genes are under research. China has been among the world's front ranks in terms of research achievements in the fields of transgenic insect-resistant cotton, transgenic rice and gene engineering vaccines. In 2002, China became a leading transgenic planting country following the United States, Canada, Brazil and Argentina with a total cultivation area exceeding 2.1 million hectares for transgenic crops.

This is learnt from the 7th APEC Seminar on Agricultural Biological Technology and Biological Safety held on December 2 in Beijing. Zhang Fengtong, director of the department of science and education under the Ministry of Agriculture, said in an address made on behalf of China that China, while energetically developing biotechnology, attaches great importance to its influence on the eco-environment and human health. As early as 1993, China had published relevant laws and regulations on the safety management of gene engineering. In 2001, the State Council issued "Rules on Safety Management of Agricultural Transgenic Plants". According to the rules, the Ministry of Agriculture released three associated regulations on safety assessment, import and export and symbol early last year for comprehensive management of the research, experiment, production, processing, operation and import and export of agricultural transgenic crops.

From 1997 to September 2003, the said Ministry, based an a safety appraisal, approved that over 10 kinds of transgenic plants such as rice, corn, cotton, soybean, rape and potato are to be released in farm, and that plants including transgenic cotton, tomato and pimiento and microorganism gene engineering vaccines for animals to be put into commercial production.