The Tianjin Municipal Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine buries 20 tonnes of unqualified fruits imported from Spain on March 15, 2016. [Photo: Xinhua]

The Chinese authorities are to strengthen the control of imported and exported animals and plants.

The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, or AQSIQ, has said with the increasing popularity of keeping pets, and the rapid development of cross-border e-commerce, the number of intercepted new species has been on the rise in recent years.

According to the AQSIQ, ports across the country made over one million interceptions in 2015, up nearly 30 percent year-on-year, involving nearly six thousand species, an increase of almost ten percent compared to that of last year.

An AQSIQ official, Zhang Jijun, said the Beijing quality inspection and quarantine administration intercepted 3410 imports in 2015, the majority of which are animals and plants, and derivative products.

"Most of the prohibited species are arrow-poison frog, centipede and spider. Some are endangered species."

The AQSIQ has carried out pre-inspection and risk evaluation of food, fruit, aquatic animals and fodder in 45 countries and regions from 2011 to 2015, suspending 45 enterprises from importing the afore mentioned items to China.

AQSIQ official Zhao Zenglian said the authority would focus on setting up an integrated bio safety inspection and warning mechanism, strengthen government supervision and companies' responsibility, and crack down on tourists illegally carrying or posting seeds.