China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has awarded safety certificates to five gene-edited crop varieties and twelve genetically modified (GM) soybean, maize and cotton varieties. The approved gene-edited crops include two soybean varieties, and one each of wheat, maize, and rice. The approved varieties include seeds from Beijing Dabeinong Technology Group (DBN) and China National Seed Group, a subsidiary of the Syngenta Group. The safety certificates for the newly-approved varieties are valid for five years. China has also authorised the import of an insect-resistant and herbicide-tolerant GM soybean variety from the German chemicals firm BASF exclusively as a processing material.