NANNING, Sept. 15 -- China has established customs inspection and quarantine cooperation with 171 countries and regions, according to a Friday conference on food safety cooperation between Belt and Road countries.

According to the conference, held in Nanning, capital of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China has signed nearly 400 international cooperation documents on food access.

China's customs authorities will step up their cooperation on food safety governance with relevant authorities in countries contributing to the construction of the Belt and Road, and explore new growth points in food cooperation.

According to customs statistics, China's food trade with Belt and Road countries totaled 553.82 billion yuan (about 77.15 billion U.S. dollars) from January to August this year, a rise of 10.4 percent from the same period last year.