Xinhua reports that China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corporation (COFCO), the country’s largest agricultural and food products supplier, has signed an agreement with a New Zealand government-owned food safety firm and a multinational business consultancy to improve China’s food safety and quality.

COFCO signed the agreement with food safety service firm AsureQuality and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) on the sidelines of the APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation) leaders meeting in Beijing, said a statement from PwC’s New Zealand office on Monday.

Drawing on leading New Zealand and international food and agricultural models, AsureQuality and PwC would support COFCO in embedding best practice in food safety and quality across the food and agriculture industries.

AsureQuality claims to have 1,700 experts working in 60 locations in Australia, China and Singapore.