WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/SPS/GEN/452
11 November 2003
(03-6019)
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Original:  English
CHINA'S TRANSITIONAL REVIEW MECHANISM
Statement by China at the meeting of 29-30 October 2003
1. China received a number of questions raised under the framework of Paragraph 18 of its
Protocol of Accession concerning the implementation of SPS obligations.  This statement provides the
Committee with relevant information and responses to questions of particular concern.
On the issue of transparency
2. China's WTO Notification and Enquiry Center in the Ministry of Commerce is responsible for
SPS notifications.  The SPS Enquiry Point is established in the State General Administration forQuality Supervision and Quarantine (AQSIQ).  All SPS notifications undergo the technical review of
the SPS Enquiry Point and then are notified to WTO through China's WTO Notification and Enquiry
Center.
3. To date in 2003, China has made 24 SPS notifications.  Some of these were specific detailed
implementation rules corresponding to laws or regulations that had been previously notified to WTO.The regulations enacted and revised under the auspices of the Ministry of Health are national food
safety standards at the draft stage.  The first 17 drafts have been notified to the WTO, for comments
from Members.
On harmonization with international standards
4. The Government of China attaches great importance to the principle that SPS measures shall
be based on international standards.  In December 2001, AQSIQ issued "Regulatory Measures
Governing the Adoption of International Standards" (AQSIQ Decree No. 10), which stipulates clearlythe principles and procedures for adopting international standards.
On the scientific basis for the SPS measures
5. China fully respects the principles identified in the SPS Agreement, especially the principle of
a scientific basis, in the process of developing and implementing its SPS measures.  China’s SPS
measures are all based on risk assessments.  In December 2002, China published RegulatoryMeasures on Import Risk Analysis for Animals and Animal Products (AQSIQ Decree No. 40) and
Regulatory Measures on Import Risk Analysis for Plants and Plant Products (AQSIQ Decree No. 41),
which were notified to WTO.
6. On the issue of soybean quarantine measures, China had provided the necessary clarifications
during the transitional review by the Committee on Agriculture.  No single foreign company’ssoybeans were suspended or prohibited from being imported into China on SPS grounds.G/SPS/GEN/452
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7. The standards applied to domestic meat and poultry products are the same as those applied to
imported ones.  These standards are all established on the basis of relevant international standards.
The standards for poultry meat were notified to the TBT Committee in 2002 and modification to them
is underway in accordance with the comments made by Members.
On the consistency of the measures with the principle of non-discrimination
8. China respects the principle of non-discrimination in the course of developing and
implementing SPS measures.  For products with identical risks, China’s SPS measures, especially end
product criteria, are applied equally to domestic and imported products.  The recent standards revised
or developed by the Ministry of Health, in which some Members are interested, will also apply
equally to domestic and imported products once they are approved.
9. China is a centralized country, and all the SPS measures (including national standards related
to SPS) developed by the central government are enforced nation-wide.  The Constitution of Chinaand the current legal and standards framework can effectively ensure the uniform implementation of
SPS measures across the country.
On inspection and approval procedures
10. The procedures set forth in two decrees, namely, AQSIQ Decree No. 7, Administrative
Measures for the Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine for Grains and Feed Stuffs , as well as AQSIQ
Decree No. 25, Administrative Measures for Import Permit for Entry of Animal and Plant Quarantine ,
apply equally to all countries exporting animals and plants as well as their products to China.
11. The procedures and processing periods for the application and issuance of import permits are
clearly specified in Decree No. 7 and Decree No. 25, that also stipulate that all importers are equally
eligible to submit application as long as they fulfil the requirements of applying for import permits.All the applications will be accepted and approved within 9 to 30 working days by AQSIQ if they are
in conformity with the regulations identified in the Quarantine Law and its Regulation of
Implementation as well as AQSIQ Decree No. 25.  To facilitate the application for the import permit,
since 1 September 2003, AQSIQ has introduced on-line application whereby importers may file the
application through internet access from their own office.  This practice has remarkably reduced thecost of application and improved the efficiency of approvals.  This makes the issuance of import
permit conform to the regulations identified in Article 8 and Annex C of the SPS Agreement.
Application of the principle of regionalisation
12. China respects and follows the principle of regionalization provided for in Article 6 of the
SPS Agreement and treats animal and plant diseases on the basis of this principle.  China encourages
Members to submit applications for regionalization in written form and provide the necessary
documents to prove their status as indicated in Article 6.3 of the SPS Agreement.  China will makethe decisions after evaluation and inspection tours to the applicant’s territory in a timely manner.
On the issue of BSE
13. In March 2002, to protect the health and life security of the people of China, the Ministry of
Health and AQSIQ issued a joint decree which prohibits the import and sale of cosmetics containing
ingredients derived from cattle and sheep tissues coming from countries and regions affected by BSE.At the same time, China classified the raw materials with BSE risks and takes different measures on
those with lower risk, thus reducing the burden on cosmetics importers to some extent.G/SPS/GEN/452
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14. Chinese experts have received and are now studying the experts’ report on cosmetics which
was drafted by the EC panel.  China pays great attention to the work done by Chinese and European
experts.  China will consider the revision of the control measure if the experts from both sides can
achieve consensus on the scientific basis and technical issues.
On the measures notified in G/SPS/N/CHN/5
15. As expressed in the above notification, the measures taken in AQSIQ Notice No. 36 are based
on the fact that chloramphenicol residues were detected not only in milk powder and veal from the
Netherlands by France and Germany, but also in salted casings from the Netherlands by China at a
later stage.  It is a provisional emergency measure taken following unsuccessful consultations with the
Netherlands.  Even after the measure came into for ce, China still detected chloramphenicol in animal
products originating from the Netherlands in a number of cases.  In addition, some other Members
have also identified chloramphenicol in poultry meat and aquatic products imported from theNetherlands.  According to the explanation by the Netherlands, the reason for the existence of
chloramphenicol in casings exported to China is that there is chloramphenicol in feedstuffs imported
from Eastern European countries.
16.  On the basis of relevant information and promises provided by the Netherlands, China has
revoked the restriction on some products and conditionally lifted the import ban on dairy products andcasings.  At the moment, Chinese experts are studying the investigation report on the residue control
system of the Netherlands and coming to a final appraisal on the basis of the study.  The
administrative decision by AQSIQ will be made as soon as possible in line with the professional
findings.
17. China hopes this information is helpful for Members to better understand China’s regime for
SPS administration.
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