UCD involved in local venture with Shanghai.(University of California at Davis; Shanghai, China)

In China, where 85 percent of the population lives on farms, there are millions of pigs, cows and chickens that could benefit from the animal vaccines and agricultural technology that's been developed in the West.

In the West, there are millions of Americans emptying their pockets for the kinds of herbal remedies that are common in China.

In an effort to make those two trends come together, a new joint venture has been formed by three area businesspeople and a wealthy developer from the city of Shanghai.

The group signed a joint-venture agreement on Feb. 2 to export U.S. animal vaccines and agricultural technology to China.

They plan to turn around and import Chinese herbal medicine to the United States.

The project has collaboration from the University of California at Davis veterinary and medical schools, and backing from the Chinese government.

University officials say it could result in their first campus on foreign soil.

"The potential is humongous," said Bay Area businessman Paul Lam, a financier involved in importing and exporting, manufacturing and banking. He is a Hong Kong native and a UC Davis graduate.

Lam teamed up …