As one of the offical side events of the first China International Import Expo (CIIE), Belt & Road Eco-Agriculture and Food Safety Forum (BREAFSF) was held in National Exhibition and Convention Center( Shanghai ) on Novermber 6, 2018.
The forum, with the aims of expanding food import, furthering international cooperation, was jointly hosted by State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) and the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) and co-organized by Shanghai Municipal Food and Drug Administration (SMFDA) and Grand World Investment Holding Group (GWIHG). Mr. Zhang Mao, Minister of SAMR, Mme. Li Xiaolin, President of CPAFFC, Mr. Xu Kunlin, Vice Mayor of Shanghai Municipal People’s Government, Mr. Jean-Pierre Raffarin, Former Prime Minister of France, Mr. Shahin Mustafayev, Minister of Economy of Azerbaijan, Mr. Vytenis Andriukaitis, Commissioner for Health and Food Safety of European Commission, Mr. Andrew Doyle, Minister of State of Department of Agriculture, Food & Marine of Ireland, delivered speeches respectively.
President Li Xiaolin said, this year marks the 40th anniversary of China’s reform and opening up. In the past 40 years, China has developed into a country with a huge supply of food and even a moderately prosperous society in all respects from a country with barely basic livelihood. As relying on the rule-based international free trade regime and open market, China and other countries become increasingly affluent. Countries need to pursue an open policy, explicitly oppose protectionism and unilateralism, and strive to enhance the level of opening-up at both multilateral and bialteral levels, so that we could make our economies interconnected and build an open world economy.
Mr. Zhang Mao, Minister of SAMR, said, the cooperation between eco-agriculture and food safety had become indispensable parts to the Belt and Road Initiative and also become an important chance to build community of shared interests and community of a shared future for participating countries along the trade routes of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. Strengthening the international cooperation of food safety provides an important underpinning for the work of food safety. The fully cooperation among the particpating countries along the trade routes of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road is indispensable to the development of food trade, science and the supervision of food safety.
Mr. Jean-Pierre Raffarin, Former Prime Minister of France, expressed, CIIE is a great initiative, which fully shows to the world China’s determination for further reform and opening-up and strengthening international cooperation and common prosperity. He also said, as food safety is related to the people all over the world, it needs countries in the world to cooperate.
After the opening ceremony, the officals, enterprise executives and researchers from China and overseas had an in-depth discussion on three themes, including International Cooperation on the Supervision of Agricultural Products and Food, Eco-Agriculture Ensuring Food Safety, and Standards, Certification and Accreditation Promoting the Import Trade of Agricultural Products and Food. 300 representatives presented at the CIIE also attended the forum.
