In order to implement the consensus reached by the heads of state of the China-Central Asia Summit, the first China-Central Asia Agriculture Ministers' Meeting was held in Yangling on September 19. Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Tang Renjian presided over the meeting and delivered a keynote speech.
Tang Renjian pointed out that the Chinese government has always regarded solving the problem of feeding well as the top priority in governing the country, taken multiple measures to consolidate the foundation of grain production, promoted the green development of agriculture and improved quality and efficiency, continued to deepen international cooperation in food and agriculture, and solidly promoted the development of investment and trade, mainly relying on itself to solve the problem of feeding more than 1.4 billion people, making significant contributions to ensuring world food security. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the five Central Asian countries 31 years ago, agricultural exchanges have developed rapidly, cooperation mechanisms have become increasingly perfect, agricultural trade has grown rapidly, investment cooperation has become increasingly active, and technical exchanges have been pragmatic and deepened, laying a good foundation for deepening China-Central Asia agricultural exchanges and cooperation.
In order to build a closer China-Central Asia agricultural cooperative relationship, Tang Renjian put forward three cooperation proposals: First, stimulate the vitality of cooperation, give full play to the role of mechanisms such as the China-Central Asia Agriculture Ministers' Meeting, promote agricultural strategic dialogue and planning docking, strengthen policy information sharing, and coordinate to respond to risks and challenges. The second is to deepen economic and trade cooperation, promote the joint construction of grain, cotton, fruit and vegetable agricultural industry demonstration parks, improve the level of investment cooperation in all links, and drive local agricultural and rural development. The third is to promote scientific and technological exchanges, relying on platforms such as the SCO Agricultural Base, focusing on key issues such as planting technology for rainfed agriculture, giving full play to the advantages of scientific and technological resources of all parties, and jointly promoting the application of advanced and applicable technologies.
Kyrgyz Minister of Agriculture Janebekov, Minister of Agriculture of Tajikistan Kurbang, Minister of Agriculture of Uzbekistan Voitov, Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Kazakhstan Tasrekov, and Ambassador of Turkmenistan to China Duldeyev attended and spoke at the meeting. With the theme of "Promoting High-level Agricultural Economic and Trade Cooperation and Promoting Food Security and Sustainable Agricultural Development", the meeting conducted in-depth exchanges on further deepening practical cooperation in the field of agriculture, and deliberated and adopted the China-Central Asia Joint Statement of Intent on Strengthening Agricultural Investment and Trade Cooperation to Jointly Promote Food Security and Sustainable Agricultural Development.
Ma Youxiang, vice minister of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and Wei Baigang, chief economist and director of the General Office, attended the meeting.