A major conference focusing on the pig industry kicked-off in Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi province, on Monday.

The Leman China Swine Conference, the largest of its kind, is co-sponsored by the University of Minnesota and the Shaanxi branch of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.

The conference will cover production, disease surveillance, the latest research progress, and the industry's global status.

It will also provide a platform for exchanges and analysis between Chinese and US experts and business leaders.

More than 1,000 industrial experts, scholars and enterprise representatives from some 30 countries are participating in the conference, which lasts for two days.