Chinese officials have agreed to lift the ban on United States (US) pork imports they imposed last spring out of fear of swine flu.

The announcement, made on Thursday, is a major boost to the beleaguered US pork industry, which had already been suffering from a downturn when China announced the ban in May.

No date has been set for lifting the ban, but Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack hailed it as a breakthrough nonetheless.

Scientific analysis

"China's intent to remove its H1N1-related ban on US pork marks an important step forward in cooperation between the countries on agriculture issues," Vilsack said in a statement.

US officials have tried to debunk the notion that the new H1N1 flu, also known as swine flu, can be spread by eating pork products, and Thursday's agreement is a sign of some success. China's agriculture minister and commerce minister said after meetings with Vilsack and US Trade Representative Ron Kirk that the decision was based on a scientific analysis.

"Since this a new disease it took time to understand it," Sun Zhengcai, China's agriculture minister said.