The expansion of the "circle of friends" of Chinese agricultural products: it not only enriches the table but also enriches the money bag

(The Fourth CIIE) The expansion of the "circle of friends" of China's agricultural products: it not only enriches the table but also enriches the money bag

Shanghai, 5 Nov (China News Service) -- This year marks the 20th anniversary of China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). Over the past 20 years, trade in agricultural products, as an important part of foreign trade, has made remarkable achievements.

On the 5th, at the sub-forum of the Fourth Hongqiao International Economic Forum "Cooperation for Development: Global Agricultural Trade and Rural Revitalization", Ren Hongbin, vice minister of the Ministry of Commerce of China, said that at present, the "circle of friends" of China's agricultural product trade has been extended to more than 20 countries and regions, "which not only enriches the table of the Chinese people, but also enriches the money bags of foreign friends."

Every year at the Expo, the food and agricultural products exhibition area is the exhibition area with the largest number of exhibitors and the most popularity. This can glimpse the interest of Chinese consumers in "tasting the world".

Ma Youxiang, vice minister of China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, said that at present, the new crown pneumonia epidemic has a profound impact on global agricultural trade, and unstable and uncertain factors have increased. There are three main impacts of the epidemic: poor trade flows, increased market volatility, and increased trade restrictions.

Despite the impact of the epidemic, China's agricultural trade has shown strong resilience. According to official data, in the first three quarters of this year, the trade volume of agricultural products was 225.2 billion US dollars, an increase of 26% year-on-year. At present, China has become the world's largest importer and fifth-largest exporter of agricultural products, with 19 free trade agreements signed with 26 countries and regions, and the stock of agricultural foreign investment exceeds 30 billion US dollars.

Ma Youxiang said that promoting the stable development of global agricultural trade and enlarging the market cake is in the interests of all parties and requires the joint efforts of all countries.

The first is to promote the stability of the industrial chain and the smooth flow of the supply chain. Optimize the layout of global agricultural production, strengthen the complementarity of advantages, improve circulation efficiency, reduce export restrictions, ensure that the global agricultural product market can be supplied, and alleviate the problem of "difficult to buy and difficult to sell".

The second is to promote the transformation and upgrading of agricultural trade. Improve the quality, efficiency and competitiveness of agricultural trade, so that trade can drive the development of agricultural industries in more countries and benefit more farmers. During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, China will lay out about 500 high-quality development bases for agricultural international trade across the country, leading the transformation and upgrading of agricultural exports; it will innovate agricultural trade formats, vigorously develop agricultural service trade, and promote domestic refined and personalized agricultural services to the world, providing integrated solutions for global agricultural development.

The third is to strengthen policy exchanges. Safeguard the multilateral trading system based on the WTO, support the WTO reform negotiations, and promote the construction of a fairer agricultural trade order. Through the platform of agricultural cooperation mechanisms such as the G20, BRICS countries and the SCO, we will strengthen policy exchanges and cooperation and improve the level of agricultural trade liberalization and facilitation. (End)

Source: China News Network