Straits Times - straitstimes.com

China denies restricting pork 

BEIJING - CHINA has denied imposing curbs on European pork imports, with state media quoting a top food safety official saying it had merely 'strengthened inspections' to prevent the spread of H1N1 flu.

EU health and food safety commissioner Androulla Vassiliou said on Wednesday that China had slapped restrictions on pork imports from Denmark, France, Italy and Spain after the A(H1N1) virus was found in pigs in Northern Ireland.

European Union officials said pork imports from Northern Ireland were already subject to Chinese restrictions.

'This will be of great concern to the EU because it's interpreted as being protectionism,' Ms Vassiliou said at a news conference in Beijing.

But Yu Taiwei, head of the food safety export and import bureau at China's quality watchdog, dismissed the accusation, saying Beijing had only asked for additional testing, the state Xinhua news agency reported.

'We still allow these countries to export pork to China, but only ask for a more intensified inspection,' said Mr Yu of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine.

He added every country should take responsibility to guarantee the quality of its exports, according to the report.

China imported 932,000 tonnes of pork last year, or 50.6 percent of its total meat imports, data from the commerce ministry showed.

Nations around the world have warned against trade protectionism, especially as the global financial crisis takes its toll.

China and the United States have recently been involved in a dispute after Washington imposed tariffs on Chinese-made tyre imports - a move that prompted Beijing to lodge a complaint with the World Trade Organization. Beijing has labelled the US action a 'clear trade protectionist move.' -- AFP

Source [http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Asia/Story/STIStory_433795.html]