On September 10-12, 2015, the International Symposium on the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road (the Belt and Road or B&R) Plant Protection International Consortium (B&R-PPIC) and Key Collaboration Program Development was held in Changchun, Jilin Province of China. The Symposium was hosted by the China Society of Plant Protection (CSPP) and co-organized by Chinese MOA-CABI Joint Laboratory for Bio-safety, Institute of Plant Protection of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (IPP-CAAS), Jilin Academy of Agricultural Sciences, FAO Asia-Pacific Forest Invasive Species Network, South China Agricultural University, Biological Invasion Branch of CSPP, Centre for Management of Invasive Alien Species of Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Sino-Australia Joint Centre for Management of Invasive Alien Species. More than 140 participants from China, Russia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Malaysia, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Turkey, Vietnam, India, Switzerland and Australia attended this impressive event.


Themed as “B&R Green and Sustainable Agriculture, Food Security, Biological and Ecological Safety”, the symposium aimed at establishing the Belt and Road Plant Protection International Consortium (B&R-PPIC) and developing a Key International Collaboration Program on Full-Chain Green Plant Protection Technology. It had four sessions: plenary presentation, B&R country reports, successful plant protection case-study and group discussion. Six experts in plant protection and agriculture from B&R countries spoke at plenary session. Fourteen delegates introduced the agricultural development and the plant protection demands representing their countries. Six representatives, on behalf of the attended international organizations, universities and research institutions, shared their successful experiences during the case-study session. The group discussion focused on the ‘Silk Road Economic Belt’ and the ‘21st-Century Maritime Silk Road’.

The participants reached the consensus on establishing the B&R-PPIC. The partnership statement on B&R-PPIC was signed among the 32 initiator institutions from China, the 12 attending countries and the international organizations. The Statement will promote the international collaboration on B&R Vision & Action in the future. The initiative accords with the fundamental interests of related countries and serves as a new mode for positive exploration of international collaboration and global governance. In the meeting, the B&R-PPIC Changchun Declaration was announced and The Development Plan for B&R Key International Collaboration Program was also discussed.

The Belt and Road run through Asia, Europe and Africa, connecting the vibrant East Asia economic circle at one end and the developed European economic circle at the other, encompassing countries with huge potential for development. The Initiative in terms of green and sustainable agricultural development and safe international trade can help promote economic prosperity along the Belt and Road and strengthen exchanges and multilateral understanding among different civilizations. It also offers multilateral benefits in agricultural technology.