Agriculture and food security are important for peace, stability, development and prosperity, and are key areas of cooperation between ASEAN and China. To promote cooperation in such areas, leaders of China and ASEAN member states designated the year 2023 as the ASEAN-China Year of Agricultural Development and Food Security Cooperation (hereinafter referred to as the “Year of Agricultural Cooperation”). This initiative aims to set an example for global food security governance as it calls for positive actions to enhance productivity and supply of agricultural products at national and regional levels, strengthen food security for more than 2 billion people in the region, and maintain a stable regional food market.

In April 2023, the Opening Ceremony of the Year of Agricultural Cooperation was held in Beijing, China. Premier Li Qiang of China and President Joko Widodo of Indonesia, ASEAN’s rotating chair this year, both sent congratulatory letters to the event. At the opening session, Chinese Vice Premier Liu Guozhong read out the letter from Premier Li Qiang and launched the Year of Agricultural Cooperation together with representatives of the 10 ASEAN member states and the ASEAN Secretariat. The Opening Ceremony gathered over 140 guests, including agricultural ministers, high level officials, ambassadors and youth representatives from the ASEAN member states, ASEAN Deputy Secretary-General Satvinder Singh, and representatives of 11 ministries, 5 provinces, and 8 companies and associations from China. The participants had policy discussions and strategic dialogues focusing on agriculture and food security. And teenagers from China and ASEAN member states gave a poetry reading performance We Can All Become Food Heroes.

To better implement the ASEAN-China Joint Statement on Food Security Cooperation, the two sides have worked together to hold various activities since the beginning of 2023, and will continue to do so throughout the year. Major activities include the following: 

I. High-Level Forums

1.The ASEAN-China Digital Agriculture Forum was held in Weifang City of China’s Shandong Province in April 2023, with the theme of “Digital Agriculture: Enabling New Development”. About 300 participants attended the Forum, including agricultural ministers of China and ASEAN member states, ASEAN diplomatic envoys to China, ASEAN Deputy Secretary-General H.E. Satvinder Singh, representatives of digital agriculture companies, scholars and experts. They exchanged views on digital agriculture policies, visited the exhibition of key technologies, shared experience and success stories, and discussed effective approaches to the application of new-generation information technology with agricultural and rural development.

2.The 17th ASEAN-China Forum on Social Development and Poverty Reduction opened in Beihai City of China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in June 2023. The Forum gathered over 200 participants, including high-level representatives from poverty reduction and rural development authorities of ASEAN Member States and the ASEAN Secretariat, Chinese government officials at the central and local levels, experts and scholars, and business representatives. Under the theme of “Deepening Regional Cooperation, Promoting Poverty Reduction and Rural Development”, participants exchanged insights on 3 topics, i.e. “market integration, trade and poverty reduction”, “food security and poverty reduction”, and “strengthening rural resilience to prevent large-scale relapse into poverty”. Such discussions contributed to the cause of global poverty reduction and sustainable development.

3.The 7th ASEAN-China Agricultural Cooperation Forum will be held in Nanning City of China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in September 2023. It will invite high-level representatives from agricultural authorities and embassies of ASEAN Member States and Timor-Leste (ASEAN Observer), the ASEAN Secretariat, and the Secretariat of ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR), as well as the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and major agricultural provinces of China. Participants are expected to engage in high-level dialogues under the theme of “Deepening Agricultural Cooperation to Create New Growth Drivers:  Opportunities and Challenges for ASEAN-China Agricultural Development in the Post-Pandemic Era”.

4.The ASEAN-China Forum on Fisheries Cooperation will be held in Qingdao City of China’s Shandong Province in October 2023. Fisheries officials, experts and scholars, and business representatives from ASEAN Member States and China will be invited to exchange views on fisheries resources conservation, sustainable aquaculture, processing and trade of aquatic products, fisheries facilities and equipment, and combating IUU fishing, to deepen ASEAN-China practical cooperation in fisheries.  

II. Seminars

5.The Seminar of ASEAN-China Cooperation on Agriculture was held in a hybrid format in Beijing, China, in January 2023. The attendees exchanged views on ASEAN-China agricultural development and food security, and had in-depth discussions on food production and supply, technology innovation, green and sustainable development, and new opportunities brought by RCEP. Before the Seminar, the ASEAN representatives visited the Exhibition of China’s Achievements in Agricultural and Rural Development in the New Era at the National Agricultural Exhibition Center in Beijing. 

6.The ASEAN-Shandong Agricultural Trade Promotion Fair is scheduled for September 2023 in Nanning City of China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The Fair will include promotional activities for ASEAN officials and business representatives to introduce their advantages and specialty agro-products, a matchmaking session and a signing ceremony for Chinese and ASEAN businesses, and an exhibition of Shandong’s choice agro-products.

7.The 4th ASEAN-China (Guangxi) Modern Seed Industry Development Conference is scheduled for October 2023 in Nanning City of China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The Conference consists of a briefing on seed industry development of Guangxi and ASEAN member states, seed exhibitions, business talks, and field trips.

III. People-to-People Exchanges

8.In April 2023, more than 30 representatives from ASEAN agricultural authorities and embassies in Beijing attended the “Beautiful Village Tour” in Weifang City of China’s Shandong Province. After attending the 1st World Expo on Digital Agriculture and the 24th China (Shouguang) International Vegetable Sci-tech Fair, they visited Qianquezhuang Village and Yangjiabu Folk Culture Village in Weifang City, where they talked with the locals and learned about the achievements of China’s “Beautiful Villages” initiative. 

9.The ASEAN-China Village Leaders Exchange Programme was held in hybrid modality in June 2023 in Beihai City of China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. This programme was attended by nearly 100 participants. Among them, more than 20 government officials, scholars, experts, village leaders and entrepreneurs from China and ASEAN member states shared their insights under two sessions, namely “Industrial Development Promotes Rural Revitalization” and “Ecological Protection and Poverty Reduction”.

10.The ASEAN-China Young Leaders Forum on Agricultural Development and Food Security will be held in the second half of 2023, with a view to providing talent pool and intellectual support for agricultural development and food security of ASEAN countries. The event will invite the youth of ASEAN member states to share their countries’ research frontiers and success cases on water-saving irrigation, soil erosion control, farmland ecological management and food security.  

11.The ASEAN-China Seminar on Integrated Development between Agri-husbandry Industry and Education & Seminar on Higher Vocational Education International Alliance for Agri-husbandry will be held in Guiyang City of China’s Guizhou Province in August 2023 on the occasion of the ASEAN-China Education Cooperation Week. Representatives of agricultural vocational schools from China and ASEAN member states will be invited to share policies, measures and cooperation intentions concerning the integrated development between agri-husbandry industry and education, in order to consolidate and expand inter-school cooperation.

12.The ASEAN-China Capacity Building--Agriculture Session is planned to be launched in the third quarter of 2023. Leading experts and renowned entrepreneurs will be invited to give training courses and seminars on agriculture.

13.Study-in-China Briefing (Agriculture) will take place in the latter half of 2023. Country-specific briefings will be organized for agricultural vocational schools in China to present their enrollment policies, academic strengths and life on campus.

IV. Exhibitions

14.The 8th ASEAN-China Agricultural Cooperation Exhibition is planned to be held in September 2023 during the China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning City of China’s Guangxi Zhuagn Autonomous Region. The Exhibition includes agricultural products displays and business talks, and aims to promote ASEAN-China agricultural cooperation outcomes and enhance agricultural investment between the two sides.

15.The ASEAN-China Week 2023 (ACW) kicked off in Fuzhou City of China’s Fujian Province in August 2023. As part of the ACW event, the ASEAN-China Gourmet Carnival was launched by Secretary General of the ASEAN-China Centre H.E. Shi Zhongjun, Vice Mayor of Fuzhou Ciy H.E. Wu Yi, and Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to China H.E. Djauhari Oratmangun. The Carnival received around 300 guests, who relished the delicacies of different countries.

Through the events under the Year of Agricultural Cooperation, ASEAN and China have and will continue to expand mutually beneficial collaboration towards more sustainable agriculture and food security in the region, strengthen their comprehensive strategic partnership, and facilitate the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.

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