On the morning of 27 December 2021, the China Seed Association held a workshop on a new subsection for crop seeds of the 5th China International Import Expo (CIIE). Mr. Zhang Yanqiu, President of China Seed Association, presided over the meeting. A total of 25 representatives from the Sino-German Agricultural Centre (DCZ), Sino-US Agricultural and Food Cooperation Project, Asian Association of Crop Science and other institutions, as well as international seed companies such as Bayer, Syngenta, Limagrain, BASF (China), KWS (China) etc. participated in the workshop. Dr. Jürgen Ritter, Director of the DCZ, and Professor Li Yumei, DCZ Advisor Agribusiness Dialogue, attended the symposium.
The China International Import Expo (CIIE) is planned, proposed and promoted by President Xi Jinping. It is the first national exhibition with import as the theme in the world so far. China comprehensively promotes the development and revitalization of the seed industry. The 5th CIIE to be held in November 2022 will set up a new subsection for crop seeds with an exhibition area of 1200 square meters, which will demonstrate the latest technologies and characteristic achievements, promote international exchanges among seed enterprises, share the cutting-edge technological progress and industrial trend of the global seed industry, jointly discuss and promote the transformation and upgrading of the seed industry and promote practical cooperation in the seed industry, It will also promote scientific and technological innovation and the transformation of achievements in the seed industry. In promoting the integration of upstream and downstream of the seed industry chain, this subsection will invite many professional audiences such as Chinese agricultural service institutions, agricultural technology extension practitioners, agricultural research institutes, seed industry and state-owned land-reclamation enterprises to meet their needs, so as to help domestic and foreign seed industry enterprises deepen cooperation and promote the healthy development of the industry. In addition, in order to serve the needs of innovation and development of the seed industry, the 5th CIIE will invite representatives of government departments, international organizations, domestic and international scientific research institutions and enterprises to exchange and discuss the new situation, new technology, new achievements and new equipment in the seed industry.
At the invitation of the China Seeds Association, the participants at the workshop mainly discussed the issues regarding booth design, expenses for participating in the exhibition, import of exhibition commodities, exhibition content, disposal of exhibition goods, etc. Zhang Yanqiu, President of China Seed Association, pointed out that, at present, environmental protection, digitization and technological innovation are important issues in China’s agricultural field. The establishment of the subsection for crop seeds is not only a high-end platform for germplasm resources display, core technological innovation and seed enterprise communication, but also a precious platform for seed enterprise brand publicity and international corporation of seed industry to address their demands and wishes. Dr. Jürgen Ritter introduced that the mission and responsibility of the DCZ is to build a dialogue platform for agricultural policies, business and research between Germany and China. He suggested that videos of German experimental fields and Sino-German agricultural cooperation could be broadcasted in the subsection, German experts could be invited to contribute to the forum and present the latest achievements of Sino-German cooperation in the seeds sector. Professor Li Yumei suggested to build the subsection into a professional and characteristic zone and an educational platform of agricultural science for the public. Representatives from international seed companies and associations agreed that including this new subsection for crop seeds at the 5th CIIE is conducive to strengthening public awareness of seed industry and improving the overall brand image of seed industry enterprises. It is a new opportunity for seed industry in China and the world. Besides that, some concerned issues e.g. cost control, building a uniformly organization to coordinate the work of exhibitions, attracting audiences, allowing exhibitors to invite cooperative customers to attend the meeting were also discussed.
