Mr. Chen Mengshan, Secretary of the Leading Party Group of CAAS, met with the COFCO delegation . He gave a brief introduction of the latest achievements in agricultural science and research of China with a focus on the seed R&D accomplished by CAAS. He reiterated the importance of COFCO as major partner of CAAS and appreciated the contribution made by the China's largest trader of foodstuffs and oil, and a strong food processor to national food security. He also called for a broader and deeper collaboration between CAAS and COFCO.

COFCO is a key collaborative partner to CAAS. At the end of 2012, CAAS and COFCO Group officially signed the Framework Agreement of Strategic Cooperation on Science and Technology and established a leadership group and a working group for the strategic cooperation. Cooperation in the scientific fields of modern seed industry, protected agriculture, the processing of cereals, oil, fruit and vegetables, food quality and safety, animal nutrition and feed, nutrition and health, and joint training programs has been brought forward and delivered remarkable results. In October 2015, the COFCO Farm, co-established by CAAS and COFCO, officially opened to the public.
 

Before the meeting, the COFCO delegation paid visits to the National Genebank of China and the National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement in itsas a field trip to CAAS’s scientific advancements and infrastructure capability in seed research.
 

By Chen Tianjin
chentianjin@caas.cn