From WATTAgNet:

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said on December 17 that a top Chinese government official said China has approved imports of genetically modified Agrisure Viptera corn and two varieties of biotech soybeans.

Vilsack said Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang told reporters at a U.S.-China trade forum in Chicago that imports of MIR 162 and biotech soybeans developed by DuPont Pioneer and Bayer CropScience had been approved by China’s Ministry of Agriculture.

China’s approval of MIR 162 is significant because the country has banned corn imports from the U.S. since November 2013, when the strain was detected in U.S. corn. Cargill and Archer Daniels Midland, along with dozens of U.S. farmers, have sued Syngenta over the strain, claiming their profitability has been affected by trade disruptions with China.

Syngenta, DuPont and Bayer are waiting for official notice of the new import approvals from China, said Darci Vetter, chief agricultural negotiator in the office of the United States Trade Representative.

"We think this is very welcome news," she told Reuters.