The chaos caused by China's genetic modification regulations is difficult to see in the short term

Introduction: Singapore / Shanghai (Reuters) - Beijing's unwillingness to clarify questions about the new GM regulations, traders said on Wednesday, has scuppered the desire of the global soybean market to end the chaos caused by it as soon as possible Chinese officials remained ambivalent about the rules at Tuesday's meeting with Chinese mills, domestic and foreign traders and foreign soybean suppliers The American Soybean Association also attended the meeting China's soybean trade stalled on Monday when it issued detailed rules on genetically modified plants, which will take effect on March 20 China is also one of the world's largest soybean importers Traders and industry insiders said the answers given by Beijing raised more questions about how to obtain safety certificates for imported GM products such as soybeans China's delaying strategy is clearly aimed at curbing large imports Traders expect the rules of different Chinese government agencies, such as the Ministry of foreign trade and economic cooperation and the General Administration of quality supervision, inspection and quarantine, to be clarified Philip Lenny, chief representative of Asian soybean association in China, said that unless the Ministry of agriculture, the Ministry of foreign trade and economic cooperation and the General Administration of quality supervision, inspection and quarantine all understand the same thing and can give meaningful answers, trade will be affected At a meeting in Beijing on Tuesday, some Chinese officials said the Chinese government may not accept the application for a security certificate until after March 20 But others deny that The application materials require six documents, including the official statement made by the government of the country of origin on the safety of genetically modified products There are different interpretations, Lenny said When it comes to these six documents, there are different interpretations There are many opinions on the content, significance and time needed to obtain these documents Some industry officials attending the meeting said that Chinese officials avoided answering numerous GM questions hotly raised by traders Now traders are pinning their hopes on the U.S government, which put pressure on China in October last year to restore the U.S - China soybean trade that has been disrupted since the first genetically modified regulations were issued on June 6 But officials from the U.S Department of agriculture in China said there were no plans to arrange a meeting between Chinese and U.S officials so far, although the regulations were vague and affected the $1 billion soybean trade with China Lenny said industry, embassies and soybean associations are all concerned about getting the interpretation mark of the regulation, hoping to ensure that it will not be used as a trade barrier But traders can now only pray to God that the clouds will be lifted when the US president visits China in February Traders in Shanghai say it's really a big problem As suppliers, they expect the U.S or Argentine government to consult with the Chinese government on the matter Traders are not counting on the Argentine government, which is in financial crisis, and Brazil has not even admitted growing genetically modified soybeans Traders say China may be taking advantage of South American governments when they are less powerful Maybe China will let American soybeans in Now it's easier to deal with South American soybeans than it used to be Traders refer to the time when the regulations came into effect, when South American soybeans went on the market and China began to purchase South American soybeans