More measures to strengthen China-Arab agricultural cooperation are expected to address the pandemic's impact on food security amid concerted efforts by both sides to promote economic exchanges for win-win results, government officials and experts said.
Li Jinxiang, national chief veterinary (officer) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, said as COVID-19 has compounded global challenges for food security, logistics and grain prices, it is important to promote communication and cooperation between China and Arab states in areas of agricultural policy and technology, food security, disaster prevention, trade and investment.
"Agriculture has become an important part of China-Arab cooperation. Agricultural production of China and Arab countries has its own characteristics, and agricultural economic activities and trade between the two sides are highly complementary," Li said.
"In recent years, the content of China-Arab agricultural cooperation has been continuously enriched. Promotion and implementation of key cooperation and investment projects have been smooth. Communications between professionals from both sides have been increasingly closer," he added.
According to a report in People's Daily, China's technological development in agricultural water conservation, modern animal husbandry and desertification prevention and control are highly compatible with the needs of many Arab states.
The report said in recent years, China has stepped up efforts promoting technologies and training professionals in many Arab states, including promoting dairy cattle embryo transfer technology in Mauritania, setting up vegetable growing demonstration areas in Jordan, growing rice in deserts in the United Arab Emirates, and promoting smart irrigation and water-saving technologies in Egypt.
Li said trade in agricultural products has also seen steady growth. Last year, the trade value of agricultural products between China and Arab countries reached $4.06 billion, up 5.8 percent year-on-year, despite the COVID-19 impact. In the same period, China imported agricultural products worth $1.59 billion from Arab countries, up 30 percent year-on-year, according to Li.
Qu Sixi, China's representative of the World Food Program, said: "The COVID-19 pandemic outbreak has led to various degrees of disruption in the international food supply chain as well as soaring food prices on a global scale last year. It also threatens food security in many countries, including Arab states. Currently, the development of agriculture in Arab states, especially those located in West Asia, North Africa and East Africa, is still facing considerable pressure, and the situation is getting worse because of the pandemic."
Qu said that China's experience in containing the pandemic, ending absolute poverty and boosting rural economic development will provide a reference to Arab states in need.
"There are many similarities in natural resources, weather conditions and agricultural development patterns between the Arab states and some northwestern areas of China. China has accumulated rich experience in modern agricultural technology, production systems and management after more than 40 years of development since the reform and opening-up," Qu added.
Despite COVID-19's impact last year, the total production value of the agriculture and reclamation-related economy reached 827.98 billion yuan ($127.58 billion) in China, an increase of 5 percent over the previous year, said the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
Total output value of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fisheries was 423.03 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 9.5 percent. Among them, the output value of the agricultural industry was 264.99 billion yuan, the ministry said.
"Despite the challenges brought by the pandemic, last year marked the 17th consecutive year of good agricultural harvests in China, and farmers' income growth has outperformed that of urban residents for 11 consecutive years," Qu said.
Hussam Al Husseini, Jordanian ambassador to China, said: "The COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on food security as transportation and supply chains have been largely restricted. Under such circumstances, states' ability to produce food locally becomes increasingly important, and this has been a key area of communication and cooperation between China and Jordan. China has rich experience in this aspect, thanks to its modern technologies.
"In the Ningxia Hui autonomous region, we came to a better understanding of China's technological development in traditional agriculture, desert agriculture and desertification prevention and control. We are looking forward to establishing more cooperation with China in this regard, especially through joint research and exchange of experience, to explore more cooperation opportunities, make joint investments and improve agricultural productivity. We hope to use advanced technologies to cope with problems in agricultural production caused by water shortages and the desert climate in Jordan."
Government officials and experts from both sides are bullish about the prospects for China-Arab cooperation.
Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade, said: "With China's Belt and Road Initiative, the industrial development of both sides is complementary and the prospect for cooperation is very broad.
"In 2018, the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Agriculture of the People's Republic of China and the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment of the United Arab Emirates on Jointly Building the Wholesale Market of Agricultural, Livestock and Fishery Products was signed, which is now being implemented as planned, and we believe that it will play a positive role in promoting China-Arab agricultural cooperation and comprehensive agricultural cooperation."
He said China is now the largest trading partner of the UAE. Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, two-way trade volume continued to increase last year, reaching $49.18 billion.
The remarks were made during the Modern Agricultural Cooperation Conference of the fifth China-Arab States Expo, which was held from Aug 19 to Aug 22 in Yinchuan, capital of Ningxia.
A total of 36 agricultural projects were signed during the expo, with the total value reaching 2 billion yuan. Among them, four were agricultural cooperation projects under the framework of China-Arab cooperation and the BRI. Four involved the importation of new technologies and equipment as well as trade-related projects. The remainder regarded investment and trade agreements on featured agricultural industries.
Anshuman Varma, deputy director of the Center for Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, said: "International and regional cooperation is vital for sustainable agricultural development and promoting food security and poverty reduction. The fifth China-Arab States Expo enables vibrant sharing of knowledge and experience and makes an important contribution to international cooperation and exchange."
As an important platform to promote China-Arab collaboration, during the past four years, more than 80 countries, regions and international organizations — along with 50 business associations and some 500 medium- and large-sized companies — have participated in the expo's agricultural sector, including exhibitions and meetings, generating a bonanza in terms of agreements for nearly 50 projects.
According to Li from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, going forward, China and Arab states should work for a new mechanism that meets the needs of various sides, in order to promote long-term sustainable cooperation.
China and Arab states should also actively encourage their research institutes to cooperate in areas of digital agriculture, green agriculture, modern animal husbandry, agricultural internet of things, and desertification prevention and treatment, in order to create a synergistic effect in facilitating agricultural technological innovation. This is essential for the resilience and flexibility of the world's food supply system and sustainable development.
"More policies that are beneficial to economic exchanges and trade between the country and Arab states are in the pipeline. Both sides should take this as an opportunity to broaden the scale of agricultural trade and cooperation, cultivate new business entities in trade, and develop new forms and models of foreign trade," Li said.
