On September 26, The 2nd International Agricultural Research Conference, hosted by the Center for International Agricultural Research of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) and organized by the Department of International Cooperation and Agriculture Information Institute of CAAS, took place in Beijing. The event, attended by 350 representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Finance, the Development Research Center of the State Council, member units of the Inter Ministerial Joint Conference on Agricultural Foreign Cooperation, member units of the Global Agricultural Big Data and Information Service Alliance, as well as international organizations such as the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR) and the Gates Foundation. Mr. Zhang Hecheng, Secretary of the Party Group of CAAS, met with leaders of departments and expressed gratitude for the support from various ministries to the conference. Academician Wu Kongming, Vice President of CAAS and Chairman of the Expert Committee of the Center for International Agricultural Research, met with representatives from the Global Forum on Agricultural Research and other international organization.

During the opening ceremony, Mr. Sui Pengfei, Director-General of the International Cooperation Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Mr. Shen Xiang, Deputy Director-General of the West Asia and Africa Department of the Ministry of Commerce, Mr. Zhao Xinli, Deputy Director of the China Science and Technology Exchange Center, and Mr. Mark Holderness, Secretary-General of the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR), delivered speeches. Vice President Wu Kongming reported on the progress of the Center for International Agricultural Research in 2018 during the opening ceremony.

Mr. Sui Pengfei emphasized that International Agricultural Research should closely align with the requirements and elements of the new era's themes, integrate closely with the rural revitalization strategy, the 'Belt and Road' initiative, and major international situation. He stressed the importance of focusing on research layout, mechanisms, and personalized services related to agricultural foreign cooperation. Furthermore, he called for increased efforts in talent cultivation and the active role of think tanks. He expressed the commitment of the International Cooperation Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs to work with all member units of China's agricultural external cooperation to effectively implement cooperative mechanisms, fully support International Agricultural Research, and provide vivid examples of agricultural foreign cooperation.

Wu Kongming pointed out that in 2018, the Center for International Agricultural Research formulated a development plan, organized and implemented collaborative innovation tasks in international agricultural science and technology cooperation, effectively promoted the 'going global' initiative in technologies and products related to cotton, flax, silk, grains, animal vaccines, and biological control. And contributed Chinese wisdom to global food security and sustainable agricultural development。Based on the task of "going global" in agriculture and the demands of agricultural foreign cooperation, CAAS will lead to the establishment of a national alliance for the 'going global' initiative in agricultural science and technology. This alliance will bring together domestic technological cooperation advantages and strengths, collectively promoting China's agricultural science and technology, jointly promote China's agricultural technology and agricultural enterprises to "going global".

Mr. Gong Xifeng, Director of Department of International Cooperation of CAAS and Vice Director of the Center for International Agricultural Research, Mr. Sun Tan, Director of the Agriculture Information Institute and Director of the Center for International Agricultural Research, and Mrs. Nie Fengying, Deputy Director of the Agriculture Information Institute and Vice Director of the Center for International Agricultural Research, presented a series of research achievements and big data platforms, including the 'Belt and Road' country-specific agricultural cooperation reports for 65 countries, 19 reports on overseas agricultural product markets, and version 2.0 of the agricultural foreign cooperation public information service platform.

Twelve speakers from institutions such as the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa, CITIC, etc., reported on three topics: agricultural foreign cooperation policies, agricultural science and technology cooperation, and agricultural investment and trade. These reports covered the system of policies for the 'going global' initiative and foreign investment policy system, agricultural industrial investment, global risk analysis, agricultural technology innovation and South-South cooperation, and agricultural extension in Africa. Entrepreneurs from CITIC, Zhonglian Heavy Machinery, and Jiangxi Huamei Food shared their experiences in agricultural foreign investment.

During the conference, various events were held, including a special session on potatoes, a training program for agricultural policy researchers from 'Belt and Road' countries, Seminar on Agricultural Technology Transfer between China and Africa: Impact, Mechanism, and Partnershi, and G20 Chief Agricultural Scientist Conference Agricultural Technology Sharing Working Group Seminar."