China announces that it will further tighten the inspection of wood packing used to ship goods from the United States and Japan in order to prevent an infestation by a tree-killing pest.

Wood packing from the two countries should avoid the use of conifer materials, according to a joint statement released on Monday by China's State Administration for Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine, the General Administration of Customs, and the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation.

This requirement applies to all shipments leaving the US and Japan beginning on January 1, 2000, the statement said.

Since the beginning of this year, China has seized scores of shipments from the US and Japan that contained the Steiner & Buhrer Nickle bug, whose Latin name is Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, a highly-destructive pest capable of killing entire forests.

The shipments containing conifer wood packing materials should be effectively treated before their entry into China, and the treatment should be proved by documents from the relevant quarantine departments of the two governments, the statement noted. (More)

China Tightens Inspection of US, Japanese Wood Packing (2) Shipments not containing conifer wood packing should arrive in China labeled "non-conifer-wood-packing" or "non-wood-packing", the statement said, adding that US and Japanese exporters should submit to Chinese inspection and quarantine authorities relevant certificates and announcements.

If the shipments do not arrive with these guarantees, they will be rejected or treated by the Chinese inspection and quarantine authorities, the statement noted, adding that any treatment costs will be paid by the Chinese importers.

It is estimated that approximately one-fourth to one-third of the US and Japanese exports to China will be affected by this requirement.

Customs statistics indicate that US exports to China reached 16.96 billion US dollars and Japanese exports to China were valued at 28.21 billion US dollars last year.

However, an official from Chinese quarantine departments said this requirement was made in accordance with international quarantine rules and was not an act of revenge for a similar US ban on Chinese wood packing.

The US Department of Agriculture announced in September 1998 that shipments leaving China from December 17, 1998 should not contain solid-wood packing unless the packing was treated for the Asian long-horned beetles. (Xinhua)