The Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences has made new progress in the development of new livestock and poultry breeds.

In recent years, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences has, in response to the nation’s critical needs in the livestock and poultry breeding sector, developed a number of new breeds, thereby contributing to national biosecurity in the seed industry.

This was learned by the reporter at a recent press conference held by the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences on “Innovation in Science and Technology Driving High-Quality Development of the Livestock and Poultry Breeding Industry.”

Qin Yuchang, director of the Beijing Institute of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine under the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, stated that meat, eggs, and dairy products are key components of the public’s “vegetable basket.” At present, China’s capacity for independent innovation in the livestock and poultry breeding sector and its ability to ensure a secure supply of genetic resources continue to improve, with the self-sufficiency rate for core breeding stock of major livestock and poultry exceeding 75 percent.

During the 13th Five-Year Plan period, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences intensified efforts to develop new domestically bred livestock and poultry varieties, achieving significant progress:

Using the Beijing Oil Chicken as a genetic resource, two specialized broiler lines—“Liyuan Youji Egg Chicken” and “Jingxing Yellow Chicken 103”—have been developed. While maintaining superior meat and egg quality and flavor, these lines exhibit significantly enhanced egg production, reproductive performance, and feed conversion efficiency.

Using the Beijing duck as a genetic resource, two lean‑meat meat‑duck lines were developed; in 2020, their total production reached 1.2 billion birds, accounting for 36.5% of the national market and breaking the monopoly of foreign breeds. A specialized line for Peking duck has also been bred, eliminating the need for the traditional force‑feeding method.

In the field of beef cattle breeding, a new beef breed—provisionally named “Huaxi Cattle”—developed through crossbreeding Simmental cattle with China’s indigenous yellow cattle, is slated to pass national variety approval by 2022, potentially ending the country’s heavy reliance on imported beef germplasm. In 2020, the first China Beef: Premium Beef Tasting Event was held, showcasing a number of local breeds. Meanwhile, the “Pingliang Red Cattle,” currently under development, is expected to become a specialized beef‑producing breed.

Meanwhile, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences has developed the “Gaoshan Merino,” marking a major breakthrough in the breeding of high-altitude fine-wool sheep, and, in collaboration with local partners, has bred the new “Luxi Blackhead Sheep” breed, which is well-suited to indoor feeding systems in northern agricultural regions. Leveraging domestic and international swine genetic resources, the academy has undertaken the development of the superior new pig breeds “Zhongchu No. 1” and “Zhongchu No. 2,” completing multi-generational selection and breeding programs that will support the transformation and upgrading of the swine industry.

The Central Economic Work Conference called for tackling critical bottlenecks in seed‑related technologies and vowed to mount a decisive campaign to revitalize the seed industry.

It is reported that during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences will undertake initiatives in livestock and poultry genetic resources, the development of major breeds, infrastructure and capacity building, and the industrial application of research outcomes. The Academy will advance the construction of the National Livestock and Poultry Genetic Resources Bank, strengthen basic research and technological innovation in biological breeding, and foster closer collaboration between academia and industry to accelerate the industrialization of livestock and poultry breeding.