Security Challenges and Risks in the International Exchange of China's Livestock and Poultry Germplasm Resources

Livestock and poultry germplasm resource is the material basis for modern breeding innovation which is an important national strategic resource for ensuring livestock production security and biodiversity conservation. China is rich in livestock and poultry germplasm resources and has preserved 752 breeds with 2.2 million genetic materials. However, foreign germplasm accounts for less than 7% of these resources, which is far lower than the proportion reported in the United States National Animal Germplasm Program. Strengthening international exchange and cooperation in livestock and poultry germplasm resources is therefore important for enriching genetic diversity, expanding breeding materials, improving resource utilization, and enhancing global biodiversity conservation.Based on the current status of international exchange and cooperation in China, this article systematically reviews relevant domestic and international laws, policies, and management procedures, and examines foreign practices in resource introduction, quarantine supervision, sharing and utilization, germplasm bank construction, information platform development, and intellectual property protection. It further analyzed the major challenges and risks facing China in this field. The results showed that although China has established a basic institutional framework for international exchange and cooperation, significant bottlenecks remained in the introduction of superior foreign germplasm, international cooperation channels, approval and quarantine coordination, resource sharing and utilization, information platform construction, and intellectual property protection.This study suggested that China should further strengthen the introduction of high-quality foreign germplasm resources, improve cross-departmental coordination and risk prevention mechanisms, optimize systems for preservation, evaluation, sharing, utilization, and intellectual property protection, and enhance research capacity, infrastructure, and professional team building. These efforts would help improve China’s international exchange and management capacity for livestock and poultry germplasm resources and support the sustainable development of the livestock breeding industry.