Oct 14, 2002

Archive

Send

International plant genetic engineering

China: between hope and caution

Is China the realm of plant genetic engineering? There is a lot of speculation, but little is known in the West about the extent to which genetically modified plants are already being grown there commercially. Current developments in plant genetic engineering and the status of GMO safety in China were one of the topics discussed at the International Symposium on Biosafety in Beijing.

Beijing Friendship Hotel . International Biosafety Symposium. One of the conference topics is the current situation regarding the use of plant genetic engineering in China.

On 11 October 2002 Prof. Zhang-Liang Chen from Peking University, one of the country’s leading scientists, explained to the audience of international experts that, until now, only transgenic tomatoes, peppers, petunias and cotton have been licensed for cultivation and marketing in China. The development of insect-resistant Bt maize, Bt rice and Bt soya was complete, but licenses would be granted only when the cultivation of these varieties no longer posed a threat to export opportunities on the international markets.

The Chinese are proud of their comprehensive and financially well-resourced research and development programme. According to Prof. Chen, 700 million yuan - almost EUR 88 million - had already been invested in biotechnology between 1986 and 2000, and this sum had been further increased to 1.4 billion yuan for 2000 to 2005. In addition there were still more research programmes for biotechnology, including one concentrating on the development of transgenic plants with a budget of 500 million yuan (EUR 62.5 million).

In his welcoming speech Zhang Baowen, the Chinese Deputy Minister of Agriculture, had explained that research was being conducted into over 130 different GMOs in China. Ten transgenic plants including carrots, maize, rice and oilseed rape were being tested outdoors.

Adequate food supply more important than biosafety research

Research into the biosafety of GMOs evidently has a lower status in China than in Europe or North America. The reason for this, according to Prof. Chen, was the continuing increase in China’s population. The different research priorities reflected the differences between a country like Germany, where everyone has enough to eat, and a country like China, where people face a daily struggle for food.

However, in China too, genetically modified plants were tested for safety according to international standards before they were released. There were monitoring programmes to control potential negative effects of GMO cultivation. This had been standard practice since the first release trials in the late 1980s. Observers familiar with the ‘western’ debate on risk doubt whether principles like the precautionary principle and freedom of choice – at least as they are understood in Europe – play a large part in practice in China.

Nonetheless, the issue is beginning to arouse public interest in China too. Critical articles on plant genetic engineering have now started to appear in various newspapers and supermarkets are beginning to sell products labelled ‘GM-free’.

After initial years of feverish activity, China is now putting the brakes on marketing genetically modified rice and soya plants. The country with 1.3 billion people, the highest population in the world, cannot shut itself off from international trade. Cultivating GM crops in China could cause problems for exports of agricultural products to Europe and other countries in Asia.

Moreover, since 1996 China, which needs imports to cover almost 50% of the demand from its growing population, has become a large importer of soya. It is known that most of the soya grown in two of the large soya-exporting countries – the USA and Argentina – is GM soya. At present the Chinese government is working extremely hard on its own safety standards for agricultural products made from GM plants.

Between hope and caution – in China too regulating the use of biotechnology in plants has become a political balancing act.