African swine fever is harmless to humans but deadly to the pigs that provide one of China’s most important sources of food
Mr Hu was speaking in August 2019, months before covid-19 was identified. He was referring to another virus—the one that causes African swine fever. This haemorrhagic disease is harmless to humans but deadly to the pigs that provide one of China’s most important sources of food and a livelihood for tens of millions of the country’s farmers. In contrast with its remarkably effective battle against covid-19, China has failed to conquer swine fever.
One reason for China’s secretiveness is that admitting the scale of the problem would raise questions about whether it should do what other countries have done to end it. During this panzootic and earlier outbreaks, some have culled large portions of their pig stock and closely monitored the destruction of carcasses. Were this to happen in China it could cause years-long disruption in pork supplies on a scale too large to be alleviated by imports or government stockpiles.
The government is even being secretive about market data. Recently it has ordered news outlets only to use official figures relating to the prices, supply and consumption of pork. These are often unreliable. Two Chinese consultancies, Cofeed andIntelligence, which had supplied more widely trusted numbers, have been closed in recent months with little explanation. Some of their employees have reportedly been detained. It is a vicious circle.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
China Delays Approval of BioNTech Covid-19 Shot to Preserve Confidence in Chinese VaccinesHealth authorities worry that public doubts about Chinese vaccines stemming from approval of BioNTech’s vaccine could disrupt plans to use the homegrown shots to reach their vaccination goal before the end of the year.
Read more »
Kamala Harris says U.S. to combat 'bullying' by China in South China SeaThe vice president, who is on a tour of Southeast Asia, spoke at a meeting with the Vietnamese president in Hanoi on August 25.
Read more »
As China-Taiwan Tensions Rise, Japan Begins Preparing for Possible ConflictChina’s growing assertiveness toward Taiwan has triggering a public push by Japanese leaders to plan for a possible conflict, a shift that could lead to closer cooperation with the U.S. military
Read more »
China plans to ban overseas IPOs for tech firms with data security risks -sourceChina is framing rules to ban internet companies whose data poses potential security risks from listing outside the country, including in the United States, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Read more »
China to clamp down on overseas IPOS for tech firmsThe move will make it tougher for businesses to raise cash in lucrative US market and gives further control to Beijing as it presses on with its regulatory clampdown on private industries.
Read more »
As China tightens data rules, Xpeng says it's on the 'right side' of regulationChina has tightened laws around data protection and collection with specific rules for automakers. Xpeng says the it has been focusing on data security.
Read more »