Xu Jianping, director of the Department of Regional Opening-up at the National Development and Reform Commission, speaks at a press conference on September 2, 2024. Photo:Liu Caiyu/GT

After decades of hard work, China has solved the issue of feeding 1.4 billion people. As food shortage has been a major problem plaguing African countries for a long time, we empathize with pursuit of the African people to achieve food security, a Chinese official said on Monday before the upcoming 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Beijing.

Xu Jianping, director of the Department of Regional Opening-up at the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), said at a press conference on Monday that food security and agricultural development are the priority direction for cooperation between the two sides, noting that China has established 24 agricultural technology demonstration centers in Africa, promoting over 300 advanced and applicable technologies such as corn and vegetable cultivation, resulting in a 30 percent to 60 percent increase in crop yields for local farmers. 

Xu said China plans to further deepen cooperation with African countries and the African Union to jointly promote the co-construction of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), align with the African Union's Agenda 2063 and the development strategies of African countries, and improve coordination with the United Nations' 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. 

The NDRC official also elaborated the current achievements of agricultural cooperation between China and Africa through three factors - the effectiveness of increasing agricultural production and income in Africa; Strong momentum of agricultural trade between China and Africa; Continuous improvement of agricultural cooperation mechanisms. 

Chinese hybrid rice, for instance, has been planted in more than 20 African countries. Madagascar even prints images of hybrid rice on its bank note, Xu said.  

China has also become the second largest destination for agricultural exports from Africa, with import volume reaching $5.32 billion in 2023,  the official noted. 

Meanwhile, Xu highlighted improving agricultural cooperation mechanisms, with China establishing agricultural cooperation mechanisms with 23 African countries and regional organizations, signing 72 bilateral or multilateral agricultural cooperation documents, the official noted.