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. Guo Xiangdan, Deputy Director General of Departments of Food Production Safety Regulation of State Administration for Market Regulation, attended the forum opening ceremony and presided over the theme forum.
Guo Xiangdan, Deputy Director General of Departments of Food Production Safety Regulation of State Administration for Market Regulation, presided over the theme forum
Guo Xiangdan stated that the report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China emphasizes that high-quality development is the primary task in building a modern socialist country in all respects. High-quality development embodies the new development concepts, requiring innovation as the primary driving force, coordination as an inherent feature, green development as a common form, openness as an essential pathway, and sharing as the fundamental goal. The food industry, an important pillar of the national economy and a basic livelihood industry that seeks benefits for farmers and blessings for consumers is also the main force in fully, accurately, and comprehensively implementing the new development concepts to achieve high-quality development. In the new era, under new circumstances, and with new requirements, the food industry is facing significant development opportunities, with quality, efficiency, and dynamics undergoing new transformations and profound changes.
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.
