Inspections at ports to prevent risks to biosafety

China will tighten inspection and quarantine of plants and animals at its borders to prevent the entry of harmful species this year, the top authority said on Monday.

The announcement came as growing numbers of species have been intercepted at ports in recent years on the back of increasing international exchanges, posing serious threats to biosafety, according to the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine.

Entry-exit inspection and quarantine authorities across China intercepted 6,305 kinds of harmful species in 2016, with 26 of them being intercepted in China for the first time, Zhi Shuping, head of the administration, said at an annual conference on Monday.