CAAS President Li Jiayang met with visiting European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Dacian Ciolos and his delegation on July 24, 2013. The two sides exchanged views on further strengthening China-EU agricultural S&T partnership, and reached consensus on seeking a more innovative mechanism and expanding the areas of cooperation.

Li extended welcome to Commissioner Ciolos for visiting China again, and briefed the new strategy of CAAS as well as its Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Project. He noted that China and the EU share common interests in agricultural develepment, and face the same challenges of tapping S&T advantages to offer better services for overall agricultural progress.

"CAAS is looking forward to facilitating the China-EU strategic cooperation in agricultural sector and achieving long-term development," Li said. He proposed the two sides to convene CAAS-EU workshop on cooperation, establish joint labs, initiate major agricultural S&T programs, sign a MOU on agricultural cooperation at a proper time, and so forth.

Commissioner Ciolos agreed with Li's proposal and introduced the latest progress of EU's agricultural R&D policy reform, as well as the "Horizon 2020" project to be launched in 2014. Ciolos pointed out that the EU noticed CAAS's leverage in promoting China-EU cooperation, and it is keen to conduct pragmatic collaboration with China in areas of common interest and on the give-and-take basis.


Mr. Markus Ederer, EU Ambassador to China and Mr. Bruno Buffaria, EU Directorate General for Agriculture and Rural Development accompanied Commissioner Ciolos for the visit. Representatives from Department of International Cooperation, Institute of Quality Standard and Testing Technology for Agro-Products, Institute of Agricultural Economics and Development, Institute of Crop Sciences, and Institute of Agricultural Economics and Development of CAAS also attended the meeting.