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On March 27, 2025, The People’s Republic of China (China’s) National Health Commission (NHC) and the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) jointly released the National Food Safety Standard for Cream, Butter, and Anhydrous Milk Fat (GB 19646-2025).

On March 27, 2025, the People's Republic of China's (China's) National Health Commission (NHC) and State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) jointly released the National Food Safety Standard of Cereal-based Complementary Foods for Infants and Young Children (GB 10769-2025).

On March 27, 2025, The People's Republic of China (China’s) National Health Commission (NHC) and State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) jointly released the National Food Safety Standard Canned Complementary Foods for Infants and Young Children (GB 10770-2025).

China was the world’s second largest importer of food in 2024, at $197 billion, with a significant portion going into food processing.

Malaysia's food processing sector continues to be an attractive destination for U.S. food ingredients. Food and beverage manufacturing remain priority areas of economic growth for Malaysia and have boasted solid performance in the past several years.

On March 15 and 17, the General Administration of Customs of China renewed or extended the facility registrations by five years for approximately 14 U.S. dairy, 210 U.S. poultry, and 365 U.S. pork establishments.

In 2024, China’s pet (dog and cat) consumer market reached $41.9 billion (302 billion yuan), an increase of 7.5 percent compared with 2023. Despite the economic headwinds faced by Chinese consumers, China’s pet consumer market demonstrated resilience and steady growth following a 10-year period of rapid growth.

Under a new policy, importers of wine and distilled spirits whose domestic agents are registered within the Shanghai Free Trade Zone are no longer required to register the U.S. producer name and brand as a trademark in China prior to commercial sales.

On October 18, 2024, China notified National Food Safety Standard for Sterilized Milk Amendment No. 1 to the World Trade Organization (WTO) under G/SPS/N/CHN/1322.

China continued to be the world’s largest food importing country in 2023, with total food imports valued at $140 billion. The United States was the 4th largest source of China’s imports of consumer-oriented agricultural products in 2023.

After strong growth in 2023, the food retail sector is expected to see moderate but positive growth in the remainder of 2024. Expansion of convenience stores and small format retail outlets continues, while premium supermarkets have also expanded.

U.S. pet food exports to China have grown with the increasing number of registered facilities and approved import licenses. The largest share of Chinese pet owners lives in second-tier cities, with export opportunities for U.S. pet food brands that want to reach more of the Chinese market.