Recently, the International Training Workshop on Modern Breeding and Cultivation Techniques of Vegetables sponsored by the Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Science and Technology, hosted by the Institute of Vegetables and Flowers (IVF), Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) was concluded successfully. Prof. HAN Nanping, Director of Department of International Cooperation, CAAS and Prof. ZHAI Yanning, Deputy Director of IVF, Prof. LI Lei, Director of Division of Scientific Management, IVF, attended the closing ceremony and awarded the certificates to trainees.

12 trainees from 4 countries including Serbia, Egypt, Algeria, Pakistan participated in the 16-day workshop. The workshop invited 13 famous Chinese vegetable research experts from China Agricultural University, the Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, CAAS to give lectures. The trainees systematically studied the basic theory and method of vegetable germplasm resources, cell engineering breeding, factory seedling, gene editing and other latest biotechnologies in a comprehensive way. The trainees expressed that through this workshop, they learned advanced professional knowledge, mastered practical technology and benefited a lot from it.

Most of the trainees are scientific researchers engaged in vegetable crop research from “Belt and Road” countries, through the course learning, interactive communication with experts and field visits, organization of interactive activities between the trainees and the experts of the Institute, several countries have reached cooperation intentions with our institute in different areas and strongly hope to establish a long-term scientific and technological cooperation relationship with us. During the workshop, trainees who are from the University of Novi Sad, Serbia had a deep communication with peony experts and signed a science and technology cooperation agreement, they decided to apply the China-Serbia Intergovernmental National Key International Cooperation Project. Trainees from Algeria also had a meeting with China Vegetable Seed Technology co., Ltd. (Beijing) of the IVF and will cooperate in the later future.

The successful organization of this workshop not only reflects China's responsibility for world peace and development but also an important window for China's vegetable science and technology to "go global" and understand the technology and industry of vegetables and flowers in the training countries. All of these have further broadened the international cooperation channels of the institute, and at the same time has an important role in enhancing the institute's international influence in developing countries.

By Congying Li (licongying@caas.cn)