The 2023 China Agricultural Forum for International Economic and Trade Cooperation is held in Beijing on June 20, 2023. [Photo courtesy of CCPIT]

The 2023 China Agricultural Forum for International Economic and Trade Cooperation convened on Tuesday in Beijing, aimed at promoting international agricultural cooperation and facilitating green, sustainable agricultural development.

Zhang Shaogang, vice chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and the China Chamber of International Commerce, detailed the challenges facing international agricultural trade cooperation, such as market fluctuations in agricultural products and global food governance instability. He stated that China's accelerated efforts to foster a new development pattern would provide more opportunities for global agricultural trade.

China has become the world's largest importer of agricultural products and the fifth largest exporter, securing a prominent place in the global produce trade.

Lu Lunyan, CEO of the Chinese arm of World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF), underlined the food system's importance in nature and affirmed WWF China's commitment to advocating for the sustainable development of the whole food industrial chain. She added that WWF China would partner with CCPIT to advance modern, sustainable agriculture prioritizing food security, resource conservation, and environmental protection.

You Wei, vice president of COFCO Corporation, China's leading agricultural and food company, noted that China has actively participated in international agricultural and grain governance, enacted an international agricultural division of labor and cooperation, and supported developing countries to bolster their ability to ensure food security.

According to You, COFCO has engaged in agricultural trade with over 140 countries and regions, with its annual trade in overseas agricultural and grain products exceeding 100 million tons. This has solidified COFCO's role as a stalwart promoter of an unimpeded global agricultural and food supply chain.

Oliver Wonekha, Uganda's ambassador to China, emphasized the importance of agricultural cooperation for sustainable development in both China and Africa. She proposed that agricultural technology and expertise from China could help African farmers increase productivity and cut costs while protecting the environment.

Cheng Guoqiang, a distinguished professor at Renmin University, shared his ideas on promoting agricultural opening-up and international cooperation. He proposed that countries jointly build international industrial, supply, and value chains. Additionally, they should promote and share a diversified, fair, efficient and resilient global agricultural trade network.

The International Dialogue Mechanism for Sustainable Agricultural Development is launched at the 2023 China Agricultural Forum for International Economic and Trade Cooperation on June 20, 2023. [Photo courtesy of CCPIT]

He expressed hope for a strategic agricultural cooperative partnership to tackle global risks and challenges and improve the global agricultural governance system.

During the forum, CCPIT and WWF China, the forum's hosts, and other parties involved launched the International Dialogue Mechanism for Sustainable Agricultural Development. The mechanism aims to establish an international sustainable agriculture dialogue platform that will host policy exchanges, experience sharing, and related training. The organizers intend for the platform to help build a green, sustainable global agricultural system.

Following the launch ceremony, two sub-forums were held to further explore ways to deepen international collaboration and enhance innovation to promote green and sustainable agricultural development.

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