China allows U.S. rice imports

China has allowed imports of rice from the United States, said the General Administration of Customs in a statement on its website Friday.

In this photo taken Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2012, Tom Ploetz, manager of the Farmer's Rice Cooperative mill, inspects rice being milled in West Sacramento, Calif. [File photo: AP/Rich Pedroncelli]

A list of inspection standards and quarantine requirements was also released in the statement.

The decision was made according to laws and regulations in China and an agreement on phytosanitary protocol for U.S. rice exports to China reached by the two countries earlier.