REVIEW
THE SECOND CHINA FOOD TRADE CONFERENCE
The second China Food Trade Conference
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New opportunities, greater integration, gathering strengths and seeking win-win results: The second China Food Trade Conference highlights by Dr Wu Wenbin, Henan University of Technology, China
he first China Grain Trade Conference, directed by the State Grain And Material Reserve Bureau, was held in Harbin in 2018. The second China Grain Trade Conference was held in Zhengzhou, hosted by the grain industry branch of the Chinese Council for the promotion of international trade, the State Grain Trade Centre, Henan Grain and Material Reserve Bureau and Zhengzhou Municipal People’s Government. The second session of China’s Grain Trade Conference from 21-23rd June, 2019, in Henan province, Zhengzhou proved to be especially successful, with a renewed focus upon assembling towards achieving “new opportunities, integration advantages, seeking win-win situations, innovation transformations to increase vitality, promoting industries and promoting development”. The theme also aimed to further implement the strategy of enhancing China’s national food security, strengthening the cooperation of the food production and marketing industries, setting up national grain production and marketing cooperation platforms and promoting the development of the food industry to an even higher standard. This session of the congress also implemented various new areas, dedicated to a variety of topics such as the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, poverty alleviation and recent improvements in this area, financial services in relation to food, going global with food production, food science and technology achievements, nutrition and consumption and other
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featured exhibition areas. With the advance of the structural reform of agricultural supply and the steady implementation of the “high-quality grain project”, the number of famous, characteristic and high-quality grain and oil products exhibited by provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities across the country has increased again. In addition to grain and oil production, processing and circulation enterprises, machinery and equipment, grain science and technology, finance and other enterprises and institutions that play an important role in enhancing the value chain of grain industry, a variety of other companies also participated in the exhibition. To discuss poverty alleviation and food safety, importna t individuals were specially invited from the UN coordinator’s office in China and the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP), as well as the African Union and other international institutions and organisations. The goal of this crucial meeting was to strengthen the communication with international organisations and to promote deeper cooperation in the field of business.