China will have to increase its beef imports by as much as 20 per cent a year for the next five years to meet its surging demand for protein, rural lender Rabobank says.

Despite measures to minimise its dependence on foreign beef, China faces a growing gap in beef supply.

China needs to increase domestic production and imports of beef.

This is good news for Australian beef producers, who export about 80 per cent of their beef, ahead of high-level trade and market access discussions between the federal government and the People's Republic.

China's beef imports almost quadrupled from 2012 levels to 297,000 tonnes last year, while beef prices in China have risen fivefold since 2000, Rabobank analyst Chenjun Pan said.