Q: It is reported by British media that meat used in a Chinese restaurant in UK and illegally smuggled from the Far East may be the source of the outbreak of foot and mouth diseases in UK. There are speculations that the meat was from China. What is your comment?

A: Governmental departments of China have consistently taken various sorts of strict preventive measures against foot and mouth disease. At present, there is no incident of foot and mouth disease in China. China has exercised strict quarantine inspection on imported and exported meat products. It needs to be pointed out that the EU has yet to give permission to Chinese imports of pigs, cattle and other cloven-hoofed animals and related products. Therefore, the foot and mouth diseases in UK have nothing to do with China. The speculations are unfounded.