Abstract: China possesses abundant local pig breed resources. However, since the large-scale introduction of foreign pig breeds in 1985, the population of local pig breeds has sharply declined, and their market share has significantly decreased. The population sizes in some conservation farms have become critically limited, leading to increased inbreeding coefficients and putting these breeds at risk of extinction. Given this situation, this paper analyzed three technical routes for conservation: Firstly, maintaining closed colony breeding - a simple method, but one that tended to increase inbreeding coefficients and caused performance degradation. Somatic cell cloning has been suggested for conservation. While it offers potential economic value, its low efficiency and risk of genetic uniformity render it unsuitable for conservation. Secondly, approach was to implement the "three-cross" breeding method - crossbreeding, backcrossing, and inbreeding - to moderately introduce outside genetic lineages, thereby preventing inbreeding depression while preserving the original characteristics of the breed. Historical experience suggests that many local breeds have undergone similar processes during their formation. Thirdly, approach was to introduce bloodlines from exotic breeds and cultivate new breeds through crossbreeding, whereby new varieties with excellent performance can be developed via systematic selection and breeding. Looking ahead, crossing Chinese local pig breeds with exotic breeds holds promise for developing a "Chinese black pig" characterized by high litter size and superior meat quality, which offers broad market prospects.

Key words: local pigs, conservation, "three-cross" breeding method, crossbreeding, inbreeding