Mutual recognition remains a Belt and Road priority

China will continue to push mutual accreditation with countries along the Belt and Road Initiative to reduce technological barriers and enhance ease of trade, a senior official said.

The Certification and Accreditation Administration of China signed an agreement with the Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain in Belgium to enable the Chinese authority to monitor the quality of pork products online.

State Councilor Wang Yong said at an event in Beijing on Tuesday celebrating World Accreditation Day that the country will continue to expand cooperation with countries in the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road initiative.

Enhanced cooperation on accreditation will also help quality supervision on imported products and benefit new business formats, such as cross-border e-commerce, he said.

The administration has also extended its cooperation with GLOBALG.A.P, a leading farm assurance program that has accredited close to 140,000 agricultural enterprises and farms in 112 countries.

The move is expected to benefit one third of the country's agricultural exporters as it enables mutual recognition of GLOBALG.A.P and China GAP, the country’s own accreditation program for agriculture.