China suffers from foreign flora and fauna attack

China is facing a flora and fauna attack, a senior agriculture minister said yesterday, citing 140,000 shipments containing 2,800 types of harmful organisms that are estimated to have entered the country last year.

Around 288 alien species, 188 of which are plants, have been identified in China, according to Zhang Fengtong, director-general of the Ministry of Agriculture's (MOA) department of science and education.

The invasive species have severely affected agricultural and forestry products, local biodiversity, human health and trade, he said in an online interview posted on the central government's website (www.gov.cn).