China's grain yield per unit area will increase steadily and its grain self-sufficiency rate is expected to increase to 91.5 percent from 2024 to 2033, a report said on Saturday.
Released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences during the 2024 China Agricultural Outlook Conference, the report said that the country made sound progress in work concerning agriculture, rural areas and farmers in 2023.
Specifically, China's total grain output reached 695 million tons and the soybean planting area and output both continued to hit record highs. There were more than one billion mu (about 66.67 million hectares) of high-standard farmland, and the contribution rate of China's agricultural science and technology progress exceeded 63 percent, with the rate of mechanization in crop plowing, planting and harvesting rising to more than 74 percent.
The report estimate that in 2024, China's ability to provide stable and safe supply of grain and important agricultural products will continue to increase, following the full implementation of a new round of actions to increase grain production capacity by 50 billion kilograms.
"We estimate that the overall grain situation in China will be gratifying in 2024. Thanks to the building of high-standard farmland, we forecast that grain production will continue to increase this year," said Li Ganqiong, director of the Agricultural Monitoring and Early Warning Center at the Agricultural Information Institute under the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.
The report foresees that China's grain yield per unit area will increase by 10.7 percent, and its grain self-sufficiency rate will rise to 91.5 percent in the next decade, following new breakthroughs in biological breeding technology, large-scale promotion of high-yielding and and high-efficiency technologies, and continuous improvement in farmland quality.
"Ten years from now, China's grain output will reach 766 million tons in 2033, an increase of about 11 percent. We have stepped up scientific research on crop seeds in recent years. With information technology being applied in agricultural production, we see an improvement in monitoring and early warning capability regarding natural disasters and pests and crop diseases. These technologies will definitely play a critical role (in agricultural production) in the next 10 years," said Xu Shiwei, secretary-general of the Market Early Warning Expert Committee under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
The report predicts that in the coming 10 years, China's agricultural product trade will maintain a growth momentum, the trade structure of important agricultural products will continue to improve, and trading partners will become more diversified.
China's food self-sufficiency rate expected to reach 91.5 pct in 10 years
As China and France toast their 60-year milestone, the sister cities of Huzhou in east China's Zhejiang Province and French city of Montargis are leading the charge to fortify relations like never before, from enriching cultural exchanges to pioneering eco-friendly initiatives.
In separate interviews with China Global Television Network in late April, mayors of the two cities that blazed a trail of collaboration for 20 years shared that they have been keen to stay true to the China-France cooperation spirit and plans to foster greater interaction in the cultural sphere.
"For example, this October, we're planning to collaborate with the Ministry of Education's China National Committee for International Language Exchange, which runs a program called 'Chinese Bridge.' We'll be inviting 30 students from Lycee en Foret, Montargis, to join the 'Chinese Bridge' Autumn Camp in our city. This camp serves as a youth exchange program between sister cities of China and France," said Hong Hupeng, Mayor of Huzhou, the birthplace of the guiding concept of "Lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets".
On his side, Mayor Benoit Digeon takes pride in highlighting that 180 pupils are learning Chinese in local schools, with a special focus on nurturing next generation's cross-cultural understanding.
"We will focus everything on youth, young people who will come to attend classes in a college or high school. We have 180 young people in Montargis learning Chinese. So, these young people can blend into a group that will go to school with them. And then there are also artists and athletes. We want to bring a team of young basketball players from Montargis to compete with young Chinese basketball players. For those who went to China the previous year, we will invite their Chinese counterparts to come and vice versa with their families. And all this will create bonds, bonds of friendship. We start with the young and when they are 20, or 25 years old, they will be able to do that by themselves and have exchange visits with Huzhou," added Digeon.
Montargis is called "Little Venice" due to its charming watery cityscape. Located about 100 kilometers south of Paris, the town is not only a key tourist destination in France, but also boasts much historical significance.
Montargis is one of the top priorities for many Chinese tourists who wish to venerate early Chinese revolutionaries as it is the birthplace of the famous Work-Study Movement.
Between 1919 and 1921, many ambitious young Chinese went to France, where they worked in factories in Montargis and other French cities to pay for their studies. Many youngsters became interested in Marxism and established one of the earliest Chinese Communist groups in the European country. Deng Xiaoping, the late Chinese leader and the chief architect of China's reform and opening-up, was among these students.
Nowadays, with Montargis and Huzhou standing as shining examples of sister cities from both sides, the mayor of Huzhou emphasized the unique and profound connection between the two cities while the mayor of Montargis praised the rapid development of the Chinese city.
"I believe that Montargis has a unique and deep connection with China. Since the inception of our partnership, visits between our two cities have grown more frequent. Last May, I had the chance to visit Montargis for the first time, and the experience truly resonated with me. Throughout history, Chinese and French youths have played pivotal roles in nurturing the friendship between our two nations. During the 1920s, young Chinese intellectuals such as Deng Xiaoping and Chen Yi worked and studied in Montargis, laying the foundation for a profound and enduring connection between Montargis and China," said Hong.
"The meeting of Huzhou and Montargis, was a somewhat improbable encounter for a small town at that time. Huzhou was not the big city it has become, since at that time, President Xi Jinping had not yet proposed the concept of 'Lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets' in Huzhou. But, it happened very quickly. We visited the city again a few days ago and it was amazing. All that has been done, we were really amazed," added Digeon.
Cities of China, France ready to strengthen cultural connections: mayors
