On August 6, China's Ministry of Commerce extended its safeguard investigation into beef imports, a move that comes as the government faces a large volume of submissions and complex issues in the case.

At a recent WTO meeting, governments whose producers could be affected by China's safeguard investigation on imports of beef had a chance to weigh in and express their views.

China's Ministry of Commerce will host a hearing on beef imports next week as part of its safeguard investigation.

On December 27, the Chinese government launched a safeguard investigation on beef imports. Safeguards investigations take into account imports from around the world, rather than singling out imports from specific countries, but given current trade flows for beef, the investigation may have a particular impact on Chinese trade with Brazil

The Australian government has announced that the remaining hurdles to selling Australian meat in China have now been lifted.

Australian government officials have announced that China's suspension of five meat processing establishments has been lifted with immediate effect, allowing additional Australian beef sales in China.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi recently announced that China will lift a two-decade long ban on Spanish beef, while calling for China and Spain to work together to provide a "fair, just and non-discriminatory" business environment.