Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO) Zhang Zhongqiu met Dr. Tony Zohrab, New Zealand Permanent Delegate to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), in Beijing on 8 August 2017. The two sides discussed issues of common interests.
CVO Zhang Zhongqiu and Dr. Tony Zohrab focused their discussions on the implementation of the Cooperation Plan on Animal Disease Prevention and Control between the Ministry of Agriculture of the People's Republic of China and the Ministry for Primary Industries of New Zealand (Cooperation Plan) signed in 2016. Both agreed to hammer out a preliminary scheme for personnel exchanges in animal health at an earlier date to bring the Cooperation Plan into reality. To intensify China-NZ animal health cooperation, CVO Zhang Zhongqiu proposed that the two sides strengthen coordination under the framework of the OIE and sign a China-NZ Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement at an earlier date to promote healthy agricultural trade.
Dr. Tony Zohrab agreed with Dr. Zhang Zhongqiu and promised to study and finalize the SPS Agreement.
The two sides also exchanged views on antimicrobial resistance.