A seminar on Sino-US Plan of Strategic Cooperation in Agriculture was held in CAAS on March 5 to implement results and relevant follow-up activities of Minister Han’s visit to the U.S. in February, and drive pragmatic Sino-US cooperation in agricultural science and technology. Vice Minister and CAAS President Li Jiayang attended the seminar and delivered a speech.
Li stated that Sino-US cooperation in agricultural science and technology is a key part of China’s cooperation with other countries in this field. Enhancing cooperation and making best of complementarities will improve overall strength of agricultural science and technology of both countries and help the international community to cope with challenges including food security and climate change.
Sino-US Plan of Strategic Cooperation in Agriculture signed by Minister Han and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Vilsack on February 16 identified priorities and charted the course for agricultural cooperation between the two sides in the coming five years. Relevant authorities should make full use of existing cooperation mechanisms including Sino-US Joint Committee on Cooperation in Agriculture and Working Group on Bio-technology within the framework of the Plan to drive pragmatic cooperation and bring benefits of R&D achievements to the people in order to conduct cooperation in a sound, practical and fruitful manner.
Li called on CAAS to play a bigger role in Sino-US cooperation in agricultural science and technology. According to Li, CAAS should create conditions, encourage innovation in mechanisms, identify priorities, and determine cooperation projects under the leadership and support of relevant MOA authorities. By building the Sino-US Joint Laboratory and conducting projects on international breeders, CAAS could engage in the implementation of the Plan and contribute to practical cooperation between the two sides in areas such as food security, food safety and sustainable agriculture.
Also discussed at the seminar were the content of Sino-US Plan of Strategic Cooperation in Agriculture (2012-2017), existing cooperation between CAAS and the U.S., as well as suggestions for future work. Participants exchanged views on issues such as how to speed up the implementation of the Plan and improve Sino-US cooperation mechanisms in agricultural science and technology.
The seminar was attended by DG Wang Ying of the Department of International Cooperation, DDG Xie Jianmin of the Department of International Cooperation, DG Bai Jinming of the Department of Science, Technology, and Education, DG Ma Aiguo of Bureau of Quality and Safety Supervision for Agro-products, Vice President Wang Ren and Vice President Tang Huajun of CAAS, and experts from relevant research institutes.