From 2 to 6 November, the Second International Symposium on Plant Biosafety, jointly hosted by the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) and the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI), was held in Guangzhou. Sun Tan, Vice President of CAAS, attended the opening ceremony and delivered an address.

Sun Tan emphasized that plant biosafety has become a strategic issue bearing on global food security, ecological security and sustainable agricultural development. He noted that CAAS will further strengthen international cooperation on scientific and technological innovation in plant biosafety, improve cooperation mechanisms, pool governance efforts, and work together to build a global defense line for plant biosafety.

With the theme Join Hands for Plant Biosafety and a Better World, the symposium featured exchanges and discussions on a range of plant biosafety issues, including patterns and integrated management of pest and disease outbreaks, monitoring and early warning of harmful organisms, and the application of artificial intelligence and smart plant protection. During the symposium, IPPCAAS and CABI jointly initiated the establishment of the BRI International Alliance for Science and Technology Innovation in Plant Protection (BRIAPP).

More than 250 experts and scholars from 17 countries including the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Laos, as well as from over 40 institutions in China, participated in the symposium.

(Correspondent: Guo Jianying)