China will fully comply with the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules in trade liberalization of fish and seafood products while reinforcing efforts to protect fisheries resources, according to a senior fishery official.

"China will actively promote the liberalization of trade in aquatic products, so as to contribute to fishery product circulation worldwide,'' Fisheries Bureau chief Yang Jian told the third World Fisheries Congress, which opened Tuesday in Beijing.

Negotiations are on the way for fish and seafood product tariff concession and non-tariff reduction measures, Yang said in a separate interview after finishing his address to the four-day fisheries professionals gathering .

The new tariff arrangement, arrived at within the context of China's application for WTO entry, could mean broader market channels for the country's fishery businesses to swim in. But the arrangement will also require domestic fish and seafood firms to dive deep for higher quality products and more skilled management craftsmanship, he said.

Yang declined to elaborate on how his bureau will interpret and implement the rules pertaining to free trade in aquatic products in the wake of the country's accession to the WTO.

He did say, however, that the country's fishery industry is in a good position to face the challenges that will come along with membership in the global trade club.

Yang's confidence is apparently built on the fact that China has not only been the top producer of fish and seafood-related products in the world the past decade, but is also the only country in which fish and seafood farming output exceeds the offshore catch.

Ministry of Agriculture statistics indicate that nearly 60 per cent of the country's 41.22-million-ton aquatic production in 1999 came from aquculture farms, meaning less pressure on marine fishery resources, which are withering worldwide.

"In addition to its high-yield fish breeding farms, China's fishery industry is labour intensive, and production cost is relatively low, which helps to sharpen the competitive edge of Chinese aquatic products in the global market,'' he said.

Ding Ping, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, also said China has advantages in freshwater fish breeding, because its prices are competitive.

The key for China's fishery industry as it gets ready to compete on a global market is the dramatic improvement of product quality , Yang said.

The World Fisheries Congress, which is being held in Beijing for the first time, is a venue for the global fishery professionals to hammer out ways to achieve the sustainable development of the world's fisheries amid intensified concerns about food security, water pollution and overfishing.

This year, participants have been focusing on "feeding the world with fish: the balance between production and environment.''

The quadrennial meeting is expected to enhance international co-operation in the fish and seafood field in the face of economic globalization, focusing on sustainable expansion of fisheries.