French beef producers cheer deal to end China ban

Paris

FRENCH beef producers on Tuesday hailed a deal reached by President Emmanuel Macron and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to end China's 16-year-old embargo on French beef.

The accord, which would allow French producers back into the huge Chinese market within six months, came as Mr Macron made a three-day visit to the country, his first destination in Asia as France's leader. The ban was imposed in 2011 as Beijing started closing off its markets to all European and later US beef imports in the wake of the "mad cow" disease scare.