China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have seen deep-going agricultural ties, with increased trade in diverse agricultural produce and promising developments in smart agriculture.
Agriculture is a cornerstone of both regions' economies and livelihoods, making it a crucial area of partnership. In recent years, China and ASEAN nations have worked closely together, leading to a significant uptick in the volume of agricultural goods from ASEAN reaching Chinese consumers.
This growing collaboration was highlighted at the four-day 2024 World Expo on Digital Agriculture, starting from Friday in Chengdu City of southwest China's Sichuan Province, drawing to it over 200 enterprises both at home and abroad to showcase the latest technologies in agricultural digitization and successful practices in rural transformation.
The event featured a dedicated forum on China-ASEAN Digital Agriculture, where participants discussed global trends in agricultural digitization and shared experiences in smart agriculture and digital rural development.
"Check out this durian pancake from Vietnam. It's been getting super popular in China over the past few years. As more and more Chinese customers start loving Vietnamese fruits like durian and dragon fruit, snacks made from these fruits are flying off the shelves and making their way to China. Right now, China is actually the biggest market for Vietnamese agricultural products," said Xiong Youcai, an exhibitor.
"We're showcasing a variety of unique agricultural products from Southeast Asia at the expo. For example, we have coconut products from Indonesia, cream puffs from the Philippines, rice noodles from Singapore, and spices from Thailand. Our company has been importing Southeast Asian products for over 10 years, and I've observed a significant increase in the number of brands from ASEAN entering the Chinese market, along with rising import volumes," noted another exhibitor.
From January to July of this year, trade between China and ASEAN countries reached a remarkable 552 billion U.S. dollars, marking a 7.7-percent-increase year on year and accounting for 15.8 percent of China's total foreign trade volume.
China has maintained its position as ASEAN's largest trading partner for 15 consecutive years, while ASEAN has been China's largest trading partner for four consecutive years.
Notably, digital agriculture is rapidly becoming a vital pathway for agricultural collaboration between China and ASEAN.
"In terms of technology adoption, a lot of the new technologies that you can acquire, especially in terms of getting things like sensors, robotics in agriculture, drone technology, all of the things can be applied in the agri-food subsector. So, I feel that in the future, as these technologies become more accessible for a lot of people to use and the prices go lower, the adoption of these technologies can be promoted and can also be increased, so that its use, farmers across the landscape can apply this kind of technology, and from there, we can improve not only the yield, but also we can improve efficiency of the processes," said Ahmad Safuan Bujang, director of the engineering research center of the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute.
China, ASEAN write new chapter in deep-going agricultural ties
China, ASEAN write new chapter in deep-going agricultural ties
Foreign diplomats and scholars are looking closely at this year's "two sessions", saying China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) will not only chart the nation's economic and technological priorities but also reshape global value chains.
The fourth session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the nation's top political advisory body, opened on Wednesday, followed by the annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC) on Thursday. Together known as the "two sessions," these meetings offer a comprehensive view into China's development priorities.
Global observers emphasized that the 15th Five-Year Plan, a blueprint guiding the nation's economic, social, and technological priorities over the next five years, marks a decisive shift toward high‑quality growth anchored in advanced technologies, with ripple effects across the world.
"The two sessions will discuss China's five-year plan, which is heavily oriented toward China's major technological development. I believe this is important because it represents the new blueprint for China's economy, which is now oriented toward the renowned high-quality development, and this will undoubtedly impact the entire world. I think it is worth studying. This is very important for Latin America. It will help us integrate more intelligently into global value chains and into all aspects of the major development that China is promoting in iconic industrial sectors, such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and space development, where Latin America also has much to contribute beyond just commercial growth," said Gustavo Sabino Vaca Narvaja, former Argentine Ambassador to China.
"The two sessions are a major political milestone in China, and this year's gathering carries even greater significance as this year marks the start of the 15th Five-Year Plan. This plan represents not only a blueprint for China, but also a guide for other countries. Instruments like the five-year plan effectively provide greater certainty and predictability for the rest of the world," said Chilean scholar of international relations Ignacio Araya Heredia.
"This is a particularly important date, especially due to the fact that the next Five-Year Plan shall be positioned and we're going to see what its main elements shall be. Serbia, which has a very high degree of steel friendship with the People's Republic of China, can expect further assistance in identifying the most prominent areas of Serbian economy and being helped by its great partner, such as it has been done in the previous period, from one part with establishing the main infrastructure projects, but also reshaping the industrial sector of Serbia, not just Serbia, but the region as a whole," said Veljko Mijuskovic, assistant professor of the Faculty of Economics of the University of Belgrade.
Beyond the policy framework, experts also pointed to China's achievements in green energy and technological innovation as models worth emulating.
Tomasz Bielinski, adjunct professor at the University of Gdansk's Faculty of Economics, said the robotics displays at the 2026 China Media Group (CMG) Spring Festival Gala reflected China's broader push in technological innovation.
"I was really impressed about the robotics. I'm very impressed with Chinese development in the technological field, we can still make great deals with Chinese businessmen and we can cooperate together to use this technology for both the good of China and the European Union. I'm aware of the innovation especially in autonomous drive on the on the Chinese side," he said.
"We hope for more of China's economic cooperation, especially in trade and also in investment. Also, and the other focus, if I talk about the focus of the development, don't forget about the green energy. We know that China is great in the electric vehicle field. So because China's electric vehicles in Indonesia nowadays, since couple of years ago, are very, very popular," said Al Busyra Basnur, president of the Indonesia-China Friendship Association.
Observers see China's new five-year plan driving high-quality development, global tech shifts
