China Technology: First Registered Warm Blood Cloned Horse Unveiled

China's first registered cloned warm blood horse has been unveiled in Beijing. Reporter Lu Sirui has more.

Born in June last year, cloned horse Zhuangzhuang has finally been introduced to the public.

Zhuangzhuang is a warm blood horse, a type known for its athletic abilities in equestrian competitions around the world.

Zhuangzhuang was created with genetic information extracted from one of the most competitive horses in equestrian events in China.

LU SIRUI Beijing "Behind me is the cloned horse Zhuangzhuang and the donor URSUS. As we can see, both of them are black in color, but the hair on their foreheads and on parts of their legs are different colors. Experts say current cloning technology can enable up to 99.9 percent similarity. But hair color is selected randomly, genetically and it's influenced by the environment. So, so far they haven't been able to control this aspect."

Equestrian sports have been growing rapidly in China in recent years. But high-quality equine breeding is still under-developed.

Experts say in 2020 China spent more than one billion yuan importing horses.

YUE GAOFENG General Secretary, China Horse Industry Association "Cloning technology will help to preserve and pass down those athletic genes. At the same time, many horse breeds are endangered. The technology will also help to maintain bio-diversity."

Industry insiders say besides good genes, professional training is indispensable to help horses reach higher athletic levels.

The gene company that produced Zhuangzhuang also says demand in China for cloning family pets and other animals has been growing. Lu Sirui, CGTN, Beijing.

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