Chinese agricultural experts have clarified a list of genetically modified food that has been officially approved, a move in response to wide debates over the safety of such products in daily life.

At present, the country's biosafety certificates have been issued for some GM strains of cotton, rice, corn and papaya, among which only cotton and papaya are allowed to be commercially planted, Xie Jiajian, a researcher on plant protection at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, was quoted by People's Daily as saying on Monday.

Meanwhile, import certificates for GM crops in China have been given only to soybeans, corn, rape, cotton and beets, allowing them to be imported as raw materials for domestic processing, he said.