New GMO regulation in China: Implications for seed market

China, the second-largest seed market globally after the US, has the potential to revolutionize its seed industry by adopting genetically modified crops to boost food security and reduce import dependency.

The Chinese government has recently taken steps to establish a clear path for the approval and commercialization of GM crops. This includes publishing varietal registration lists for GM corn and soybean, issuing biosafety certificates for domestic cultivation and processing of GM crops, and implementing stricter penalties for intellectual property rights violations in the seed market.

China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs is primarily responsible for labeling the revisions for GM seeds, registering the first-ever GM crop-linked herbicide in China and expanding the GM crop area, indicating a growing seriousness about the cultivation of GM crops.

MARA initially provides a biosafety certificate to companies for GMO events after reviewing necessary laboratory and field tests. Seed companies can then apply for variety registration, followed by production certificates. Currently, 36 corn and 10 soy varieties in China have received production certificates at provincial levels.

Regulatory update

The Chinese government is making significant progress in GM crop regulations. In December 2023, MARA approved the production, sale and distribution of GM corn and soybeans in certain provinces. This positive move was followed by the registration of 51 GM corn and soybean varieties in the same month.

MARA also issued new and renewed biosafety certificates for GM events, including corn, soybean and cotton varieties.

A second variety registration list for GM corn and soybean was published in March. While these developments indicate progress toward full commercial cultivation of GM crops, they are likely to be limited to approved pilot programs in 2024.

Update on new breeding techniques

In January 2022, the Chinese government categorized new breeding techniques as a subcategory of genetically modified organisms. This decision required seed companies to obtain a biosafety certificate, submit biotechnology data and provide polymerase chain reaction assay results for approval.

Unlike with GMOs, application for a production certificate for gene-edited crops can be made after pilot trials, reducing the approval timeline from five to six years to one to two years. This indicates the government's goal to promote the development and commercialization of GE/NBT crops to ensure food security and reduce imports. Recently, two certificates were issued for GE soybean events for domestic cultivation and processing, valid nationwide for five years.

Although both GMOs and NBTs are biotechnological tools used to create changes in a plant's genome or DNA, they differ in their approach. In GMOs, a transgene from foreign DNA is added to create traits of interest in the plants, whereas NBTs -- often considered as conventional breeding by many countries -- modify the existing plant genome without the insertion of foreign genes to achieve the desired trait.

Cautious liberalization

Even with all the recent steps toward commercial cultivation of domestically developed GM corn and soybean, as well as further development of NBTs, uncertainties remain for the commercialization of the technologies in China. Overall, the recent developments of these two trends seem to provide a direction for China's intention regarding the seed market, further supported when paired with the major policy focus on food security, improving crop yield and advancing technological innovations.

Although there has been anticipation for an imminent commercial cultivation approval for more than 10 years, it does seem that it could happen within the next three to four years.

The approval of GM technology in China will also create a significant future advantage for Chinese seed companies overseas once commercial cultivation is finally authorized by the government. Considering the near-time commercialization of GM crops in China, we expect the Asia-Pacific region to drive global seed market growth with a 4.6% CAGR between 2023 and 2033.

Further reading: Seed innovation