China seeks to deepen cooperation in agricultural safety under BRI as aimed during the 17th Belt and Road Eco-Agriculture and Food Safety Forum.
Addressing the 17th Belt and Road Eco-Agriculture and Food Safety Forum in Shanghai on November 6, Xu Xinjian, chief inspector of anti-monopoly at the State Administration for Market Regulation, emphasized the need for enhanced joint governance on food safety under the Belt and Road Initiative. Xu highlighted the importance of meeting global demands for improved living standards through cooperative efforts in food safety.
Sohail Khan, deputy secretary general of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), pointed out that amid global challenges like climate change and economic instability, food security and agricultural productivity are shared global concerns. Strengthening international collaboration in these areas is therefore a key priority for the world community.
China has actively pursued international agricultural initiatives in recent years. In Mauritania, a Ningxia-based Chinese company established an agricultural demonstration center, transforming sections of the Sahara Desert into productive land. Similarly, China aided Jordan in creating a large vegetable production zone, exporting over 100 varieties to countries across Central Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. In Kenya, a collaboration center was established focusing on silkworm, beef, and hen egg production. Pakistan has benefited from Chinese agricultural techniques, leading to new crop varieties and increased yields.
Challenges persist
Despite these successes, significant challenges remain.
The 2024 FAO report titled “State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World” indicated that in 2023, 713 to 757 million people, or about 9% of the global population, were undernourished.
Projections suggest that by 2030, around 582 million people may still be chronically undernourished, highlighting the difficulty of achieving Sustainable Development Goal 2 (Zero Hunger).
Suggestions
Xu proposed several measures to tackle these issues, including improved food safety governance and greater international collaboration under the Belt and Road Initiative.
Further, he advocated for establishing mechanisms for information exchange and coordination with BRI countries, fostering broad sectoral participation, and developing a joint food safety framework.
Xu also stressed the importance of aligning food safety laws and standards, enhancing nutrition education, strengthening quality infrastructure collaboration, and promoting mutual recognition of food inspections and certifications to facilitate international trade in agricultural and food products.
Representatives from various countries, such as Ethiopia, Malawi, Rwanda, Seychelles, Hungary, Bulgaria, Uzbekistan, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, and Uruguay, expressed their enthusiasm for deeper cooperation with China in the agricultural sector. Xu concluded the forum by affirming China’s commitment to working with BRI nations to advance agricultural exchanges, enhance food safety governance, and ensure mutual benefits.
The forum, hosted by the SAMR and centered on “Deepening Agricultural and Food Exchange and Cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, Co-Governing and Sharing Food Safety,” brought together a diverse range of officials, diplomats, scholars, and business leaders to discuss pressing issues related to agriculture and food security.
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