President Cao Derong Carries Out Trade Promotion Activities in the U.S.2023-10-27

President Cao Derong Carries Out Trade Promotion Activities in the U.S.

Source:CFNAPublished:2023-10-27Share to WeChat

On 23 October, CFNA, the US Soybean Export Council (USSEC), the Iowa Soybean Association, and US Grains Council (USGC), jointly organized the "China-U.S. Sustainable Agricultural Trade Forum & Contract Signing Ceremony" in Des Moines, Iowa. Xie Feng, Chinese Ambassador to the United States; Terry Branstad, president of World Food Prize Foundation, former Governor of Iowa, former U.S. Ambassador to China; Kenneth Quinn, president emeritus of the World Food Prize; Bob Holden, chairman and president, US Heartland China Association and former Governor of Missouri, Jason Hafemeister, the acting deputy undersecretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs at the US Department of Agriculture, and so on, attended the meeting and delivered speeches. Representatives of relevant government departments, industry associations, agricultural enterprises and farmers from China and the United States attended the meeting.

Ambassador Xie said that China was founded on agriculture, and ensuring sufficient food for the 1.4 billion people has always been our top priority. Agriculture is also one of the first and the most productive and promising areas for China-U.S. cooperation. Big granaries need big markets, and with big markets we are ready to share big opportunities. China-U.S. agricultural cooperation features complementarity and mutual benefit. China is the world's largest importer of agricultural products, while the United States is the largest exporter. Bilateral agricultural trade exceeded US$50 billion last year. China-U.S. agricultural cooperation is a rich land with bright prospects. As China builds up its strength in agriculture, there will be an even more robust demand for quality agricultural products, which will open up vast space for China-U.S. agricultural cooperation in agritech innovation and green agriculture. China-U.S. agricultural cooperation benefits both peoples and the world. Global food security is facing grave and complex challenges. China-U.S. agricultural cooperation will enable the two countries to jointly combat common challenges such as global food security with advanced agritech. This is the shared responsibility of China and the United States as two major countries for building a world free from hunger and want.

Ambassador Xie said that 38 years ago, President Xi Jinping personally sowed seeds of friendship during his first visit to Iowa. Today, the seeds have grown into lush trees. When getting together with his old friends from Iowa in 2012, President Xi said that "Iowa was my first stop to get to know the United States, and you were the first group of Americans that I came into contact with. To me, you are America." Today, this is still the case: the warmhearted and hardworking people of Iowa continue to be the epitome of America. Ambassador Xie said that he is deeply impressed by how much our peoples share in common: we both have a deep love for the soil under our feet, both take pride in our honest work, and both want a better life. Our pursuit of peace, enthusiasm for cooperation and value of friendship are not to be dismissed. He called for joint efforts to sow more seeds of friendship, and reap more fruits of cooperation on the fields of hope.

Terry Branstad, Kenneth Quinn and Bob Holden spoke highly of China's achievements in agricultural development and huge contribution to global food security, and stressed that U.S.-China agricultural cooperation is beneficial for both countries and the world. They expressed readiness to make every effort to expand friendly exchanges and practical cooperation between the two sides through the World Food Prize Foundation, the U.S. Heartland China Association and other civil society groups in the Midwest. Acting Deputy Under Secretary Jason Hafemeister said that the two sides should continue to implement the consensus reached by the two Presidents in Bali, advance cooperation in agriculture and food security, promote market openness and agritech innovation, and work together to tackle food crises, climate change and other global challenges.

Before the meeting, Ambassador Xie Feng received some of the representatives of the Chinese side.

At the signing ceremony, president Cao Derong, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the US Soybean Export Council (USSEC), to strengthen the cooperation between the bilateral industries. Representatives of enterprises from different provinces in China signed more than ten agricultural trade contracts with relevant U.S. enterprises.

President Cao Derong attended the forum and delivered a speech. He said that the visit to Iowa to carry out China-US agricultural trade promotion activities was a practical action to implement the initiative of the leaders of China and the US on strengthening China-U.S. province/state-level trade cooperation. CFNA will continue to work with the relevant U.S. agricultural industry associations to further deepen the U.S.-China food and agricultural trade co-operation, and to achieve more practical results.

CEO of the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC) Jim Sutter said that the U.S. soybean industry is ready to continue to actively serve the Chinese market, provide China with high-quality products, and consolidate the ballast role of agriculture in U.S.-China cooperation. Chairman of the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) Brent Boydston said that the U.S. grain industry supports free trade and wishes to overcome the challenges in bilateral relations and continue working with Chinese partners for win-win results.

During the meeting, president Cao Derong met with delegates from the U.S. Grains Council (USGC), Iowa Corn Growers Association, Iowa Corn Promotion Board, and the Iowa Economic Development Authority, and exchanged views on the market situation of corn, sorghum and other grains in the U.S. and China and the cooperation between CFNA and the U.S. grains industry.

On the morning of 24 October, president Cao Derong led a delegation to visit an Iowa corn farm to learn about the new season's corn production and harvest.

On the afternoon of 24 October, the delegation attended the World Food Prize Conference in Des Moines.