Regulating agricultural biotechnology : a study of multi-level environmental governance in China and the European Union

Abstract

As a developing country with relatively limited arable land, China has invested heavily in the development and use of genetically modified crops to boost agricultural productivity. Biotechnology is designated as a strategic emerging industry in China and the government has encouraged and supported extensive biotechnology research. The potential of this new technology, and the expectations of it in boosting agricultural production, are very high - but these are also mixed with public concern as to its safety and potential impacts on the environment in China. Important issues about biosafety and the need for appropriate regulation of the development and (then) release into the environment of agricultural genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have been prevalent in recent years. China has introduced legislation on biosafety management, but the regulatory system for GMOs has been criticized for being vague and lacking enforceability. A series of recent actions indicate that the Chinese government is aware of the need to revise its biotechnology regulatory system, but transforming the complex system of multi – level governance currently applied to agricultural biotechnology in China will be challenging. The European Union has a precautionary approach to GMOs, and a comprehensive and integrated regulatory framework for managing the development and release of GMOs. The EU model has practical relevance to establishing the shape of legislative reforms in China. This thesis will survey the regulatory framework of agricultural GMOs in both China and the EU, specifically in the range of GM crops and GM food and feed. It adopts a comparative methodology, and provides a detailed analysis on the regulation of key issues: including risk assessment and the approval processes for developing new agricultural GMOs, their cultivation, marketing and safety assessment within the EU and China. The thesis identifies valuable lessons and precedents from the EU and considers how they might be adopted to provide possible solutions for legislative reform in China.