Co-hosted by the State Administration for Market Regulation of P.R.China, the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, the Silk-road Planning and Research Center, and the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the Belt and Road Eco-agriculture and Food Safety Forum was successfully held on November 6, 2020 at the Shanghai National Convention and Exhibition Center.
Lin Songtian,  President of Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries attended the Forum and delivered a speech.

Your Excellencies,
Distinguished leaders and guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Friends,

Good afternoon!

It gives me great pleasure to co-host the “Belt and Road” Eco-agriculture and Food Safety Forum with relevant departments again. First of all, on behalf of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, I would like to extend a warm welcome and heartfelt thanks to all the ambassadors, leaders and distinguished guests present here!

The China International Import Expo (CIIE) is the only large-scale national import fair in the world. It is a major initiative of China to open its market to the world and share development opportunities. In the face of the global Covid-19 pandemic, China holding the Third CIIE as scheduled, fully demonstrates its firm determination to support international free trade and economic globalization. This is an important platform for international cooperation in the new era. It has injected new impetus and provided new opportunities for building an open world economy and a community with a shared future for mankind. We firmly believe that only through openness can we achieve development, and it is the only wise choice to open to each other.

Seven years ago, bearing in mind the traditional Chinese cultural value that one should care for others when one is better off and based on the successful practice of China’s reform and opening-up, President Xi Jinping proposed the Belt and Road initiative which follows the principles of Three Togethers, namely planning together, building together and sharing together, stays committed to Five Connectivities in policy, infrastructure, trade, finance and people-to-people exchanges, so as to achieve win-win cooperation for common development between China and other countries, and has received a broad and positive response from the international community. So far, 138 countries and 30 international organizations have signed 200“Belt and Road” cooperation documents and carried out more than 2,000 cooperation projects with China, greatly promoting the common development of the participating countries.

President Xi Jinping stressed that only when the world is good can China be good; only when China is good can the world be better. Win-win cooperation for common development is the only right choice. We welcome all countries in the world, especially friendly countries, to board the train of China’s rapid development.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
The purpose of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries is to enhance people’s friendship and promote common development. The association co-hosted the “Belt and Road” Forum on eco-agriculture and food safety to promote mutual understanding and friendship, experience sharing and common development between the peoples of China and the countries along the routes.

First is to share development opportunities. China is not only a big agricultural country, but also a big population and consumption country, with a population of 1.4 billion and more than 400 million middle-income people of them. To meet the People’s demand for a better life, China imports more than 150 billion US dollars of agricultural products every year. We look forward to importing more high-quality and special agricultural products from the countries along the “Belt and Road”. We hope that with the help of this forum, you will find the right market for your products, and find more mutually beneficial business opportunities and partners.

Second is to share experience in poverty alleviation. This year, China will win a decisive battle against poverty, and all of its 1.4 billion people will be lifted out of absolute poverty, with no one left behind. Not long ago, I went on a field trip to Xing County, Lüliang City of Shanxi Province, a former Chinese revolutionary base where the natural conditions were harsh and the people lived in extreme poverty. But now Xing County has been lifted out of poverty as a whole; local people are better off. Today, we are pleased to invite the secretary of the CPC Lüliang municipal committee, Li Zhengyin, and the secretary of the CPC Xing County Committee, Liang Zhifeng, to today’s forum. We hope that they will share their successful experiences with you and we welcome you to Lüliang for a study visit, to discuss poverty alleviation and development together.

Third is to promote win-win cooperation for common development. Exploring agricultural resources, developing agricultural production, increasing employment and income generation and ensuring food security are the top priorities of governments around the world. Our Association is willing to give full play to its advantages and mobilize local governments and enterprises in China to strengthen cooperation in agriculture and agricultural products processing industry with the countries along the “Belt and Road”, so as to increase the agricultural income and added value of agricultural products of the countries concerned, to promote agricultural and rural poverty reduction and development and food security in the countries along the Belt and Road to achieve common development.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
The “Belt and Road” Eco-agriculture and Food Safety Forum has been successfully held as an official supporting event of the CIIE for three consecutive years. We sincerely hope that the participants will make full use of this platform to exchange experiences, reap friendship, promote cooperation and achieve better development of each other.

In conclusion, I wish the forum a complete success!
Thank you!