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In early March, 120 Chinese scholars—mostly in the areas of humanity and social science—signed a public petition asking the Ministry of Agriculture to withdraw the two safety licenses issued last November. The petition, presented during the annual plenary meeting of China's legislature, the National People's Congress, was reinforced by a motion from the Zhigong Party, chaired by China's Science Minister Wan Gang. The motion, introduced to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, China's Upper House, urges a cautious approach to GM crop development.
Over the past two decades, China has maintained a positive attitude to the development of GM organisms. Just two years ago, the country invested a colossal $3.5 billion in its GM seed program, with the intention of becoming a leading international player capable of creating its own GM crops to ensure security of the food supply. Thus far, several locally developed GM crops, including sweet pepper, papaya and poplar, have been approved and are currently sold in the country. Bacillus thuringiensis toxin (Bt)-producing cotton is also cultivated widely in China, and the country's own transgenic varieties of rice and maize are likely to follow within several years (Nat. Biotechnol.28, 8, 2010). The safety licenses that triggered the recent outcry were issued for two pest-resistant Bt rice varieties (Table 1) developed by Qifa Zhang of Wuhan-based Central China Agricultural University of Huazhong Agricultural University, and a maize expressing phytase developed by Yun-Liu Fan of the Beijing-based Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) that helps livestock digest phosphorus in animal feed (and that also potentially reduces pollution from animal waste).