WASHINGTON DC—DECEMBER 20, 2017—Last month the US Ambassador to China, Terry Branstad, and Chinese Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) Minister, Zhi Shuping, finalized an agreement with China to allow the import of American horses to the country.

The American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) was among several US organizations involved in the move to re-establish exports to China.

Others include United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), the Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders (KTOB), Keeneland Association, and US Livestock Genetics Export.

American horses were banned in 2015 due to concerns over outbreaks of equine infectious anemia, a fatal blood borne virus.

Currently, Chinese investors purchase between $20-30 million worth of horses each year, mostly Thoroughbreds, and the new agreement is expected to have an immediate multimillion-dollar impact.

Experts believe racing conditions in mainland China are similar to those in North America, providing investors with a greater incentive to purchase American horses.

The first American Quarter Horse was imported to China in 2009, and in 2014 China became an international affiliate of AQHA.

Betting on horse races has been illegal in China since 1945. As a result most Chinese horse racing takes place in rural communities near the Mongolian border. Only about 60 small horse races take place in mainland China each year. In comparison, two tracks maintained by the Hong Kong Jockey Club jointly run 740 annual races.

A recent article by Jake Howery, a research intern at East-West Center in Washington DC said should the betting ban on horse races end, China would become the most important export in the world overnight.