China has agreed to resume importing beef from the United States. The import is likely to start by the end of this year, although no time line has been provided yet.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, who is currently in the US for attending UN General Assembly meeting, announced it at an event in New York's Waldorf Astoria Hotel.

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He said that the decision shows China's sincerity in opening its markets to US business once again.

CNBC reported that Li talked about Chinese authorities completing quarantine procedure for US beef on the bone. The completion of this formality paves the way for resuming the imports.

Speaking to US business groups, Li revealed that China is a large producer of animal and agricultural product.

"We also recognize that the United States has very good beef, so why should we deny Chinese customers this choice?" he said.

China has imposed a ban on most US beef imports since 2003. This was done in response to the discovery of mad-cow disease in some American beef cattle.

Despite the World Animal Health Organization declaring that the risk of the disease is "negligible," some countries, such as Brazil and China, banned the import of beef from the United States. However, Brazil withdrew the ban earlier this year.

According to Wall Street Journal, US cattle producers are currently struggling with the declining price level in the domestic market. This year, the producers have pressed agriculture officials to prioritize the need of reopening export markets. 

Tagschina, United States, Mad Cow Disease, China Beef Import