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2.3.5 Transgenic organisms in China

European experts who have visited release sites of genetically modified plants in China have concluded that China has gained a 'leading' position in the large-scale release of virus-resistant transgenic crops. The most frequently used plants were tobacco and tomatoes, but experiments were also performed with pepper, potato and rice crops. In 1996, virus-resistant tomatoes and tobacco were grown on 50,000 (Braunschweiger and Conzelmann, 1997) and 2,000,000 acres (James and Krattiger, 1996), respectively in China. These figures are comparable to the acreage figures for the most abundantly grown transgenic crops in the US. Other experiments to increase the nitrogen-fixation capacity of barley, rice, wheat and watermelons by the use of genetically modified bacteria (Alcaligenes faecalis, Enterobacter cloacae, Klebsiella oxytoca) are currently being performed (BINASNews, 1996). No information was available at the time of this writing concerning the existence of regulatory processes or legislation governing genetically modified organisms in China.