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China yesterday stepped up its ability to fight invasive species with the launch of a forest pests center in Beijing yesterday as the country faces another big year for forest diseases.

The pest inspection and identification center, under the State Forestry Administration (SFA), is the country's first such institution to monitor and combat alien species.

In past years, bugs from overseas have entered China in large numbers and have spread across the Chinese mainland, devouring 170 million cubic meters of forest and causing 50 billion yuan (US$6 billion) of economic losses each year in China.

According to the latest estimate, 8.67 million hectares of woodland might be infected in 2003.

"The biggest benefit of the center is that it can keep abreast of the latest trends in invasive alien species in countries with close trade relationships with China," said Zhang Shougong, who heads the center.

The center can detect potential diseases or pests before they cause an ecological disaster and thus dramatically reduce costs and protect the country's forests.

Zhu Lieke, deputy director of the SFA, said: "Invasive pests have become one of the major factors endangering China's forest industry, threatening a total of 1.3 million hectares of forests.''

The pine wood nematode, one of the most dangerous invaders, was introduced to China in the early 1980s and has thrived in the Yangtze River basin and southeastern coastal cities. A total of 35 million pine trees have been damaged since then, causing a direct economic loss of 3 billion yuan (US$360.6 million).

With China's entry into the World Trade Organization, international trade will increase, making it much easier for non-indigenous species to travel across borders.

To tackle the problem, the country has been trying hard to set up a legal system to ward off alien invasive species and the amended Agriculture Law is the result.

Research is also at the top of the agenda to strengthen the country's supervision.

(China Daily February 14, 2003)