A US security panel has cleared a plan by Shuanghui International Holdings Ltd to buy US pork giant Smithfield Foods Inc, moving the $4.7 billion deal a step closer to completion.

The move is expected to boost pork exports to China in the future and raise the brand and technology know-how for China's largest meat producer, industry insiders said.

With approval by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States in hand, the proposed takeover - the largest by a Chinese firm of a US company - now goes to Smithfield shareholders for a vote on Sept 24.