Thank you, Mr. Chairman,
The Chinese delegation is very happy to be here to attend the Fifteenth Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission.
First of all, I would like to take this opportunity to thank FAO and WHO for inviting us to this meeting. We would also like to thank Dr. Eckert, the Chairman of the Codex Alimentarius Commission and Mr. Kermode, the Chief of the FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme, for their special welcome and friendly words to the Chinese Delegation in their opening speeches.
We would also like to take this opportunity to express our warm greetings and best wishes to all of you.
As you know, this is the first time that the People's Republic of China has attended a session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission in the capacity of observer. The main purposes of our attendance are as follows: to know more about the Codex Alimentarius Commission and its activities, to get acquainted with the responsible officials and members, scientists and experts in this field and we would also like to learn the good experiences from other countries.
During the period of our meetings, we have met with many delegations, officials and experts, they have given us very friendly explanations about and introduction to the Codex Alimentarius Commission and relative questions. Now, please allow me once again to express our sincere thanks to them for their kindness and explanation.
As you know, China is one of the countries with an ancient civilization. The food industry in China has a long history. Chinese foods and cooking techniques have a unique tradition. In recent years, our government has adopted a series of correct policy and measures, including the policy of economic readjustment and the diverse forms of the responsibility system for production. For these reasons, the food industry in China has made remarkable progress in recent years. The food industry output is increasing at an average rate of about ten percent per year. But this development still does not meet the needs of our socialist construction and the growing demand of the people's life improvement. Therefore, the food industry in China must make further progress and considerable improvements in technology, equipment, quality control, production and operation.
As an old Chinese saying goes: “Feeding the people is a matter of prime importance under heaven”. The sanitation quality of foods is very important to the people's health and the nation's thriving. For this reason, our government has paid great attention to the work of food sanitation. We have adopted the supervisory system for food sanitation. Our government has formulated and promulgated a number of food hygiene regulations and various kinds of food standards. Last November, our country adopted a provisional food hygiene law. This is the first food hygiene law in the People's Republic of China and has been put into force from first July this year or just two weeks ago. This law will give a legal basis for the food sanitation/quality in our country and will also give a big impetus to food quality/standardization in China.
Mr. Chairman, through attending this meeting, we have a better understanding about the Codex Alimentarius Commission. We would like to express our appreciation for the active efforts of FAO and WHO and the Codex Alimentarius Commission for the purpose of protecting the health of the consumers and facilitating the world food trade.
Although this is the first time for us to attend this meeting as an observer, we do hope it will become a good beginning and that it will give us more opportunities to make joint efforts with other countries to promote the food standards and regulations work at international and national levels.
Finally, we would like to express once again our best wishes to all of you and for the successful conclusion of our session.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
