During April 5 to April 7, 2023, French president Macron had a state visit to China, together with delegation consisting of many senior French government officials, more than 60 French business leaders, and over 20 French cultural figures. Undoubtedly this visit has greatly promoted the economics and trade relations between China and France. As revealed by the Joint Declaration between the People's Republic of China and the French Republic1 (hereinafter “Joint Declaration”) issued on April 7, China and France will commit to building a better business environment for enterprises in both countries and strengthening the partnership. In food industry, the collaboration will be promoted from the following aspects:
1. Expediting market access
China and France hope to strengthen the partnership in agricultural food and plant inspection & quarantine. The competent authorities of both countries will respond as soon as possible to the registration requests of agricultural and food products, especially those from meat and aquatic products export enterprises. According to the latest Regulations on the Registration and Administration of Overseas Manufacturers of Imported Food, all overseas manufacturers should obtain registration approval before exporting food to China. You can check ChemLinked online course: The Ultimate Guide to China's GACC Overseas Food Manufacturer Registration to learn the detailed requirements and application procedures.
REACH24H Consulting Group, the parent company of ChemLinked, can also provide one-stop services for food’s market access, including product compliance review, overseas manufacturer registration, and diverse customized services like risk monitoring. Please feel free to contact us if you need any help.
2. Facilitating infant formula registration
The Joint Declaration also mentions that the competent authorities should respond to the request of infant formula registration as soon as possible, which suggests that the registration approval of French products will be expedited soon.
In March 2021, China National Health Commission released the new GB standards for infant formula (GB 10765-2021), older infant formula (GB 10766-2021), and young children formula (GB 10767-2021). These new standards have been effective from February 22, 2023. As of March 6, 2023, 454 infant formula recipes from 72 manufacturers were registered under the new GB standard (click here for more detailed analysis). REACH24H has assisted multiple global manufacturers in the market access of infant formula and other special foods, and is skilled in infant formula registration, facility on-site inspection, etc.
3. Further collaboration in wine sector
Both countries will have more communication and collaboration in wine sector. To be more specific, geographical indication will be one of the focuses, especially the registration of Burgundy wine’s geographical indications. In addition, France supports China's application to join the International Vine and Wine Organization as well as China in hosting the International Conference on Grape and Wine Industry.
According to the data sourced from General Administration of Customs of China (GACC), beverage, wine and vinegar are one of the major categories that France exports to China. Jian Junbo, Associate Director and Associate Professor of the China-EU Relations Research Center at the Institute of International Studies, Fudan University, said the deepening of China-France economic and trade ties also serve as a model for the development of China-EU economic and trade relations2. More trade facilitations between China and European countries will be certain to be seen.
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