Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue will travel to China this week

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue will travel to China this week, joining U.S. Ambassador to China Terry Branstad, to formally mark the return of U.S. beef to the Chinese market after a 13-year hiatus. In events in Beijing and Shanghai on Friday and Saturday, Perdue will meet with Chinese government officials to celebrate the return of American beef products to the enormous market after shipments were halted at the end of 2003. On Friday in Beijing, Perdue and Branstad will ceremonially cut prime rib that originated in Nebraska and was shipped by Greater Omaha Packing Company. “We will once again have access to the enormous Chinese market, with a strong and growing middle class, which had been closed to our ranchers for a long, long time.  There’s no doubt in my mind that when the Chinese people taste our high-quality U.S. beef, they’ll want more of it,” Perdue said in a news release. President Trump, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin, officials with the U.S. Trade Representative's office and Secretary Perdue announced the deal brokered to allow the return of U.S. beef to China on May 11 as part of the U.S.-China 100-Day Action Plan. The first shipment of U.S. beef arrived in China on June 19. China has emerged as a major beef buyer in recent years, with imports increasing from $275 million in 2012 to $2.5 billion in 2016. The United States is the world’s largest beef producer and in 2016 was the world’s fourth-largest exporter, with global sales of more than $5.4 billion.  While in China, Perdue will meet with China’s Minister of Agriculture Han Changfu to discuss additional market access goals. He will meet with Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang to discuss expanding U.S. trade with China. Perdue will also tour a Chinese supermarket and participate in a cooking demonstration.