A new rapeseed variety developed by the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) has been widely planted in Meishan City of southwest China's Sichuan Province, reporting a significant increase in yield per unit, further enhancing China's food security.
In 2024, China launched a national initiative aiming to improve per-unit yield for grain and oil crops. According to the annual statistics, the average food yield per hectare in 2024 has increased by 76.5 kilograms compared with 2023.
To further ensure domestic food security, China's "No. 1 central document" for 2025, unveiled on Sunday, reiterated the need to promote the large-scale yield improvement initiative, expand the implementation scale, and further advocate high-yield and efficient farming models. By introducing new varieties and high-density planting techniques, the rapeseed field in Meishan is among the leading models.
Compared with ordinary rapeseed plant varieties, whose best plant density is around 225,000 plants per hectare, the new variety requires a tighter row spacing from 33 to 35 centimeters to 27, thus nearly doubling the density, raising the number to 450,000.
The oil content of its seeds also reached over 50 percent, ranking among the top compared with major rapeseed varieties planted across China.
In 2024, the National Development and Reform Commission announced a new initiative to increase grain production by 50 million metric tons by 2030. Improving the per unit yield of grains and oil crops is vital to achieving the 2030 goal, while developing new varieties, and adopting new techniques, equipment, and agriculture models are critical approaches, said an expert.
"We need to increase the per unit yield, and we are capable of doing it. In view of our practical results, we should speed up efforts to sum up the experiences from the past two years of pilot projects, form a set of effective technological integration models and best practices, and transform these experiences into systematic methodologies for broader application. This will play a significant role in ensuring national food security and firmly securing China's food supply," said Zhong Yu from the Agricultural Economy Institute, CAAS.
China's new rapeseed variety increases yield, enhances food security
The 6th China Media Group (CMG) Chinese Language Video Festival held at Palace of Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, on Friday to mark the 2026 United Nations Chinese Language Day.
Co-hosted by CMG, China's Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva, and the UN Office at Geneva, the event brought together over 350 guests from more than 30 countries.
At the event, Tatiana Valovaya, director-general of the United Nations Office at Geneva, said as one of the six official languages of the United Nations, the Chinese language is an important link between China and the world, and between Chinese civilization and other civilizations, which not only reflects its great value to human society, but also highlights the significance of the Chinese language in multilateral diplomacy.
Addressing the event via video link, Shen Haixiong, vice minister of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and CMG president, said that as a world-class mainstream media outlet, CMG has always been committed to spreading Chinese culture and promoting civilizational exchanges. It has carefully produced a large number of cultural programs that make China's fine traditional culture shine with new brilliance in the new era.
Shen said CMG will continue to advance "5G plus 4K/8K plus AI" innovation and build more pragmatic cultural exchange platforms.
Jia Guide, China's permanent representative and ambassador to the United Nations Office at Geneva and other international organizations in Switzerland, said that the establishment of UN Chinese Language Day not only protects linguistic diversity, but also promotes the exchange of ideas and the mutual understanding of concepts.
He expressed the hope to take this event as an opportunity to integrate historical experience, institutional advantages and innovative vitality of countries, show their strategic vision and political wisdom, and jointly inject positive energy into building a more just and rational global governance system and a better future.
During the event, many Chinese and international youths were invited to share their understanding of Chinese characters. Through this activity, young people from different cultural backgrounds can intuitively feel the emotional resonance and civilizational connection behind the language.
Many cultural television programs produced by CMG, including "The Chinese Calligraphy Conference" and "Crafted in China," were screened during the event. CMG also specially set up a creative products booth and an interactive experience area, allowing guests to experience traditional Chinese culture — such as calligraphy, embroidery, and paper-cutting — and try out intelligent interactive devices.
Chinese Language Day, established by the United Nations in 2010, is celebrated annually on Guyu, or Grain Rain, the sixth of the 24 traditional Chinese solar terms, to highlight the global significance of the Chinese language.
CMG Video Festival held in Geneva to mark 2026 UN Chinese Language Day
