Last week, Ningxia province's Xiji County delivered its first batch of 23 tons of standard halal mutton and beef to the five Middle Eastern countries, including Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia.

This marks the implementation of Xiji County's long term cooperation agreement with the Silk Road Trading Co., Ltd, one of the largest food distributors in Jordan, to supply halal meat to Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries.

According to a county official, the first batch of meat sent will net about 100,000 U.S. dollars in revenue for the county. Larger shipments of mutton and beef are planned for the near future.

The general manger of Silk Road Trading Co., Ltd said that Ningxia-produced mutton and beef adheres to strict halal standards accepted by Middle Eastern countries. He hopes that the shipments will be the start of a long-lasting trade relationship between Ningxia and the Middle East and encourage ties between China and Arab nations.

Xiji, the largest county in Ningxia, has a large Hui ethnic Muslim population and also produces a large volume of halal meat for its domestic market.