Increasing the export of U.S. agricultural products will improve China’s effective supply in its domestic market and broaden consumption choices, an expert told People’s Daily during a recent interview.

China and the U.S. issued a joint statement last Saturday in Washington after economic and trade talks, agreeing to meaningfully increase the export of U.S. agricultural and energy products. The U.S. will send a delegation to China for further consultations.

Food holds a significant position in the lives of Chinese people, said Yu Lu, vice president of China Chamber of Commerce of Foodstuffs and Native Produce (CFNA). She added that increasing the export of agricultural products is also an important way to enhance bonds between people.

According to Yu, the agreed export increase is based on mutual respect and win-win cooperation, and will diversify choices.

Statistics issued by Chinese customs show that China imported over $120 billion of agricultural products in 2017, 12 percent more than the previous year. The compound growth of China’s agricultural imports has been kept at 8.8 percent over the past decade.

Given the growing demand for quality foreign agricultural products, it's vitally important to further advance imports.

In addition, expanding imports of U.S. agricultural products will also promote the structural adjustment of China’s domestic agricultural industry, said Li Guoxiang, researcher with the Rural Development Institute under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

China still has space for improvement in agricultural industrialization and processing these products, Li noted, adding that to introduce more foreign products will in turn accelerate China’s pace of innovation and improve the overall competitiveness of the country's agriculture.