On the afternoon of October 18, the 31st China Beijing Seed Industry Conference opened. Yin Li, Secretary of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee, attended the opening ceremony, and later visited the Tongzhou International Seed Industry Science & Technology Park. During the event, Yin emphasized that seeds are the “chips” of agriculture, and the development of the seed industry is crucial to agricultural production and food security. He stressed the importance of fully implementing General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important observations and instructions on the work of agriculture, rural areas, and rural people. The city needs to fully leverage its sci-tech resources, and redouble innovation efforts in the seed industry. By fostering new quality productive forces in agriculture at a faster pace, the city aims to develop high-quality modern agriculture and promote all-round rural revitalization as it builds itself into a center of seed development. Yin Yong, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee and Mayor of Beijing, also attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech.
Learning about agricultural development
This year’s conference, themed “A Good Seed for Abundant Harvests”, features an international seed industry forum, professional forums, and various activities such as achievement displays, field demonstrations of new varieties, and visits to seed industry parks and key enterprises. In the achievement display zone of the exhibition hall, Yin Li was briefed on the progress of revitalizing China’s seed industry and building the seed development hub. He then visited the generic technology service platform for molecular breeding of crops at the Tongzhou International Seed Industry Science & Technology Park, where he learned about the latest research breakthroughs, including whole genome prediction and gene editing services. At Shenzhou Lvpeng Agricultural Science & Technology Co., Ltd., he inquired about aerospace breeding and technological innovation, inspected the germplasm resource bank, and viewed seedling samples. He also toured the greenhouse to observe the specialty cash crops produced through aerospace breeding and learned about progress in speed breeding research at the crop breeding accelerator.
Observing specialty cash crops produced by aerospace breeding
Yin Li highlighted General Secretary Xi Jinping’s consistent emphasis on the revitalization of the seed industry. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, General Secretary Xi has given important instructions on the reform and development of the seed industry. It is imperative to thoroughly implement General Secretary Xi’s instructions, and accelerate the gathering of various innovation factors in the seed industry. With the China Beijing Seed Industry Conference serving as a platform, along with the policy advantages of Zhongguancun’s multiple sub-parks, active efforts should be made to attract more high-quality innovation factors for crop breeding from home and abroad, with the goal of becoming a leader in crop seed innovation. In addition, robust support systems and mechanisms should be put in place to promote industrial development and talent recruitment, and incubate innovative enterprises in the seed industry. Consistent efforts should be made to enhance the business environment and facilitate business growth with the “service package” and “service steward” mechanisms.
Yin Li stressed the importance of achieving technological breakthroughs in the crop seed industry. Active efforts should be made to undertake national-level key innovation projects and conduct in-depth research to advance core technologies in germplasm resources. Stronger partnerships should be forged with leading domestic agricultural research institutions like the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) to establish collaborative mechanisms. It’s important to tap into seed companies’ role as innovators to promote efficient coordination between innovation and industry chains, thereby facilitating the commercialization of more innovative outcomes. The park should enhance its supporting services, improve the generic technology service system for crop seed industry, and optimize the operation mechanism of breeding service platforms to assist entities in the park as they strive for technical breakthroughs. Professional service teams should be formed to provide specialized services throughout the entire process.
China Beijing Seed Industry Conference Opens
Yin Yong said at the opening ceremony that Beijing places great emphasis on the innovation and development of the seed industry. Collaborating with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA), the city has established the High-Tech Farming Z-Park and made notable progress in building itself into a seed development hub. Going forward, the seed industry will continue to feature prominently as a driver of agricultural and rural modernization. Beijing will attract more innovation resources from home and abroad, intensify collaborative research efforts, and accelerate the research, promotion, and application of new varieties, providing robust support for the high-quality development of the seed industry. The city is committed to creating a first-class environment for seed industry growth. The full implementation of the Seed Regulations of Beijing Municipality and the Seed Industry Revitalization Action Plan will enhance the comprehensive services of the four major seed industry innovation bases in Pinggu District, Tongzhou District, Yanqing District, and Nanfan, rendering stronger support for the development of seed companies. Efforts will also be made to expand open cooperation, promoting collaboration between Beijing and regions such as Tianjin, Hebei Province, Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, and Xizang, to facilitate inter-provincial exchanges and complementarity across the national seed industry. Beijing will also strengthen its partnerships with Belt and Road partner countries, increasing the global availability of high-quality Beijing-produced seeds. Enterprises, research institutions, and talents interested in the seed industry are welcome to innovate and start businesses in Beijing and contribute their part to the citywide efforts to advance the revitalization of China’s seed industry and global food security.
At the opening ceremony, Wu Kongming, Member of the Leading Party Group of MARA and President of CAAS, and Wan Jianmin, Academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering, delivered speeches. The event also included the signing of agreements for the commercialization of research outcomes by the Beijing Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, international cooperation, and strategic cooperation between Beijing and Inner Mongolia for the revitalization of the seed industry.
Leaders from relevant central authorities and Beijing Municipality, officials from various provincial-level jurisdictions, representatives from foreign embassies in China and international organizations, as well as heads of research institutions and domestic and foreign seed industry associations and relevant enterprises attended the event.
(Written by Qi Mengzhu and Liu Feifei)
