Kruuse met Mei Kebao, Chinas’ vice minister responsible for the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), on Monday. The main objective of the meeting was to achieve an agreement opening the Chinese market to Estonian dairy producers, the minister said.

“As a result of several years of negotiations between our supervisory institutions as well as inspections carried out in Estonia, the Chinese minister has confirmed that he is ready to sign the dairy protocol at the Tallinn meeting,” Kruuse announced on Friday last week.

"Estonia produces almost twice as much milk as it needs,” Kruuse added. “We hope the signing of the protocol will remove bureaucratic barriers.” He also said that the government would continue to support Estonian businesses on their way to entering the Chinese market.

Four Chinese inspectors visited Estonia in September 2015 to assess the organization of state supervision as part of the process towards recognition of Estonian veterinary certificates. They also visited three milk processing companies and a dairy farm.

Kruuse and Mei had already signed a memorandum of understanding between the two countries in which China recognized the overall organization of food and veterinary monitoring in Estonia in Bejing last year.