China’s Vice Minister Deng proposed goals to strengthen ASEAN–China Agricultural Development and Food Security Cooperation
The Twenty-Third Meeting of the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry Plus Three (AMAF+3) was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Oct. 6.
The meeting discussed the progress of the implementation of the ASEAN Plus Three Cooperation Strategy (APTCS) on Food, Agriculture, and Forestry 2021-2025. APTCS provides a framework for cooperation on strategic areas including food security, forest management, and information and knowledge network and exchange, among others.
On this occasion, China’s Vice Minister Deng pointed out that China has always attached great importance to agricultural cooperation with ASEAN, Japan and South Korea under mechanisms such as ASEAN +3 and ASEAN +1. China has worked with all parties to implement the ASEAN Plus Three Cooperation Strategy on Food, Agriculture and Forestry 2016–2025 and continuously promote deep and solid cooperation in agriculture, thus playing a positive role in regional agricultural development and food security.
China’s Vice Minister Deng said this year marks the “ASEAN–China Year of Agricultural Development and Food Security Cooperation.” China hopes to take this as an opportunity to strengthen cooperation with all parties and adopt pragmatic measures to build and refine more efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable agro-food systems. In this way, it can contribute East Asian wisdom to global food security governance and become a model for such governance.
To achieve this goal, Vice Minister Deng put forth four proposals: 1) promote green agricultural development in the region and join hands in exploring green agricultural development models that suit different types of ecosystems and different local conditions; 2) advance smart agriculture in the region by working with ASEAN countries to establish pilot smart farms, and cooperate to digitalize production, processing, logistics, sales, and trade; 3) boost cooperation in agricultural investment and trade and make use of the RCEP and the upgrade of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area to facilitate steady growth in regional agro-trade; and 4) encourage people-to-people interactions in the region, conduct capacity building and exchange of agricultural talent, pass down traditional farming culture, and drive the integrated development of agriculture, culture, and tourism.
