China: Agricultural Biotechnology Annual

Since the last report, high-level officials in the People's Republic of China (PRC) have made strong public statements emphasizing the importance of biotechnology development taking place within China. While the regulatory system for biotechnology has not changed over the last year, the Biosecurity Law of China came into effect in April 2021. Several PRC ministries have stated that they are going to develop implementing rules for the law, including the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA). The National Health Commission (NHC) regularly approves applications for enzymes derived from microbial biotechnology, which are used as food ingredients in food production.