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Tian Shihong, Vice Commissioner of State Administration for Market Regulation, Director of Standardization Administration, attended the opening ceremony of the forum and delivered a speech

Date:2024-01-15 11:11:42 Views:
On November 6th, the 16th Belt and Road Eco-Agriculture and Food Safety Forum was successfully held in Shanghai as a concurrent event of the 6th China International Import Expo. The forum was hosted by the State Administration for Market Regulation and co-organized by the Shanghai Municipal Administration for Market Regulation, the Development Research Center of the State Administration for Market Regulation, and the Secretariat of the Belt and Road Eco-Agriculture and Food Safety Forum. Tian Shihong, Vice Commissioner of State Administration for Market Regulation, Director of Standardization Administration, attended the opening ceremony of the forum and delivered a speech.


Tian Shihong, Vice Commissioner of State Administration for Market Regulation, Director of Standardization Administration, attended the opening ceremony of the forum and delivered a speech

Esteemed guests, ladies, gentlemen, and friends:
Good morning to you all!
 
In this golden autumn in Shanghai, where chrysanthemums bloom and the fragrance of osmanthus fills the air, I am delighted to gather with you at the 6th China International Import Expo to partake in the 16th Belt and Roa Eco-Agriculture and Food Safety Forum. On behalf of the State Administration for Market Regulation, I extend a warm welcome and heartfelt thanks to all guests present.
 
This year marks the 10th anniversary of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s proposal of the Belt and Road Initiative. Last month, President Xi announced China’s eight actions to support the high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road at the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. He emphasized the need to deepen Belt and Road international cooperation, embrace new high-quality and high-level developments of the Belt and Road, promote the modernization of countries around the world, build an open, inclusive, interconnected, and jointly developed world, and collectively push forward the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind. Today, with the theme of ‘Deepening the Belt and Road Cooperation in Agriculture and Food: Jointly Creating a Better Life for Humanity,’ we explore paths to high-quality development in agriculture and food safety along the Belt and Road, and discuss cooperation strategies among Belt and Road countries, reflecting distinct contemporary features and significant practical implications.
 
Food Is of primary importance to the people, and agriculture is the source of food. Agriculture is one of the cornerstones of human civilization, and food is the material basis for human survival and development. We implement food safety with the strictest standards and responsibilities, decisively rectify prominent food safety issues, firmly guard the bottom line of food safety, and continuously enhance people’s sense of gain, happiness, and security.
 
The Belt and Road Initiative, where mountains and rivers depend on each other, and destinies are interconnected, continues to see development and cooperation side by side. Over the past decade, through the Belt and Road Eco-Agriculture and Food Safety Forum, we have jointly discussed issues of common concern such as rural revitalization, food safety, reducing catering waste, and high-quality development of the food industry, achieving fruitful results. Currently, as the world faces significant changes unseen in a century, only through cooperation can we create the future. Together with all countries, we will deepen Belt and Road agricultural and food cooperation, promote high-quality development in agriculture and the food industry, and jointly create a better life for humanity.
 
1. Innovating Governance Systems to Jointly Guard the ‘safety of every bite of food’
Food safety is the foundation of food nutrition and health. The Chinese government places great emphasis on food safety. The State Administration for Market Regulation continuously intensifies its efforts, constantly improving the food safety responsibility system. We meticulously allocate and implement food safety responsibilities to specific individuals at every level, clarifying duties and tasks, and firmly establishing both the territorial management and the primary responsibility of enterprises for food safety. This promotes a responsibility implementation mechanism that is effective from the grassroots to the end, enabling precise control of food safety risks. We are eager to establish a cooperative information exchange mechanism with countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative, jointly enhancing our capacity for early warning and control of food safety risks, continually exploring new approaches to food safety governance, and pioneering new pathways.
 
2. Serving Enterprise Development and Continuously Meeting the People’s Aspirations for a Better Life
Food enterprises are the main force in food safety and industry development. The State Administration for Market Regulation persistently strives to build a unified large market, continuously intensifying reform efforts, optimizing the business environment, promoting fair competition, and maintaining market order to create a conducive environment for the development of food enterprises. We actively support food enterprises in adopting advanced quality management systems, encourage the diversification, enhancement of quality, and branding of food products, and improve the level of food supply and service quality. We are willing to collaborate with Belt and Road countries on various aspects, including cultivation, production, processing, storage, transportation, end-sale, and catering consumption. We aim to strengthen exchanges and cooperation in food safety laws, standards, and technology, enhance the innovation capability and management level of food enterprises, and produce a greater variety of high-quality, nutritious food.
 
3. Raising the Level of Openness and Expanding International Trade in Food and Agricultural Products
Expanding institutional openness is the inevitable path for China to promote a high level of external openness and an inherent requirement for implementing the Belt and Road initiative. The State Administration for Market Regulation will continue to expand the opening-up in the field of food safety, including rules, regulations, management, and standards. Under the framework of the Belt and Road initiative, we will further advance international recognition and mutual recognition of inspection, testing, certification, and accreditation results in the food sector, enhancing consumer trust and promoting trade. We are willing to establish comprehensive international rules and dispute resolution mechanisms with Belt and Road countries, facilitate smooth food industry and supply chains, and expand international trade in food and agricultural products.
 
4. Adhering to Technological Innovation to Promote High-Quality Development in the Food Industry
China’s food production and consumption have entered a new stage of development, facing new challenges in food safety and new opportunities in food industry development. The State Administration for Market Regulation will implement an innovation-driven development strategy, strengthen the role of technology, accelerate the construction of inspection and testing laboratories and technical institutions, enhance the technical capabilities of food safety supervision, and encourage food enterprises to transform their production methods. We are eager to conduct joint market research with Belt and Road countries, centering on consumers, increasing research and development investment, raising quality standards, implementing intelligent manufacturing, adopting green packaging, and strengthening brand building. Our goal is to meet the new demands of the people for food consumption and their expectations for a better life.
 
Ladies and gentlemen, friends, by leveraging the platform of the China International Import Expo to host this forum, we will undoubtedly gather more strength and promote better cooperation. I sincerely hope that all guests will strengthen communication and exchanges, spark intellectual ideas, share experiences and results, build consensus on cooperation, and promote mutual benefit and win-win situations. Together, let us make active contributions to propelling the Belt and Road Initiative into a new stage of high-quality development.
 
In conclusion, I wish this forum a great success! Thank you, everyone!



The theme of the forum is, ‘Deepening the Belt and Road Cooperation in Agriculture and Food: Jointly Creating a Better Life for Humanity.’ Leaders from the State Administration for Market Regulation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, National Health Commission, General Administration of Customs, as well as leaders from Shanghai, Henan, Hainan, and other provincial governments, representatives of provincial market supervision departments, representatives of relevant United Nations organizations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and embassies of South Africa, the Netherlands, Colombia, Sri Lanka, Bulgaria, Tanzania, Senegal, among others, along with over 400 delegates from domestic and international enterprises, participated in the forum. Guests collectively deliberated on agricultural cooperation and food industry development, contributing insights and strategies for the high-quality development of agriculture and food industries in the Belt and Road Initiative, highlighting the role of the forum as a platform for policy interpretation.
 
2023 marks the 10th anniversary of the proposal of the Belt and Road Initiative and the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Eco-Agriculture and Food Safety Forum. Over the past decade, the forum has been successfully held for 15 sessions within the framework of the National Food Safety Publicity Week and the China International Import Expo. The forum has solidly promoted high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road, extensively conducted exchanges and cooperation in the agricultural and food industries, played a significant role in the development and safety of agricultural food industries in the countries along the route, and facilitated smooth international trade among the Belt and Road countries.

 
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