China on Tuesday implemented a ban on imports of poultry and related products from France, where an outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5N8 avian influenza has been reported.

From January 5, it is forbidden to send or bring French poultry and related products to China, and any such items shall be returned or destroyed, according to a joint statement released on Wednesday by the General Administration of Customs and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

The statement also urged Chinese customs and animal disease prevention and control agencies to step up guard against such imports.