China-US Agricultural Roundtable Forum 2022-Think Tank Dialogue Held Successfully

On April 8, sponsored by the Institute of Rural Development of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the Bureau of International Cooperation of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and the Chinese Association of the American Hinterland, the 2022 Sino-US Agricultural Roundtable Forum, jointly organized by the China Foreign Agricultural Economic Research Association and the Chinese Society of Ecological Economics, was held in Beijing in a combination of online and offline. The theme of this conference is "Rural Revitalization and Climate Change. Wang Lei, director of the Bureau of International Cooperation of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, presided over the opening ceremony, and Liao Fan, deputy director of the Bureau of International Cooperation of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, presided over the academic report. Kenneth Quinn, retired chairman of the World Food Prize Foundation and former US ambassador to Cambodia, and Wei Houkai, director and researcher of the Institute of Rural Development of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, attended and delivered speeches. Experts and scholars from Chinese and American research institutions such as the Institute of Rural Development of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the Institute of Ecological Civilization, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the American Alliance of Agriculture and Ranchers, Cornell University, the RAND Corporation, and the World Resources Institute participated in the meeting. Secretary-General Hu Glacier attended the meeting on behalf of the China Foreign Agricultural Economic Research Association.

Director Wang Lei introduced the background and significance of the meeting. He pointed out that the current situation of climate change in the world is grim, and agriculture is an important area affected by climate change. As major agricultural producers, it is of great significance for China and the United States to discuss the topic of "Rural Revitalization and Climate Change.

In his speech, Ambassador Quinn said that China has performed well in poverty eradication. Over the past 40 years of reform and opening up, China has made outstanding achievements in poverty reduction, which has greatly promoted the cause of global poverty reduction. China's experience and measures in poverty reduction and promoting sustainable development are worth popularizing to the world. At present, climate change is a common challenge facing all mankind, and global food security is also worthy of attention. This conference builds a platform for research institutions to fully exchange information and views, and has important reference significance for subsequent policy formulation and promoting the sustainable development of economically underdeveloped areas.

Director Wei Houkai said in his speech that China has achieved a good start in implementing the rural revitalization strategy since 2017. The institutional mechanism, institutional framework and policy system of rural revitalization have been formed, and good results have been achieved in rural development, rural construction and rural governance. At present, China's rural revitalization has entered a new stage of comprehensive promotion. Rural revitalization includes ecological revitalization, which requires green development in agricultural and rural areas. Therefore, the rural revitalization strategy will promote the acceleration of green transformation in the agricultural and rural areas, and make due contributions to addressing climate change and achieving China's carbon peak and carbon neutral goals.

In the academic report, Irene Fitzgerald, CEO of the American Farmers and Ranchers Alliance, Li Zhou, former director and researcher of the Institute of Rural Development of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, associate professor of the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management of Cornell University, Associate Professor of the American Journal of Agricultural Economics Ariel Poppy, deputy editor-in-chief, Zhang Weijian, researcher of the Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, five speakers, Patricia Stapleton, a political scientist at the RAND Corporation, discussed and shared topics such as the transformation of green agricultural development in the United States, the role of carbon sequestration in China's ecosystem governance, climate change and agricultural productivity, the practice of climate-smart crop production in China, and emerging technologies and rural prosperity.

Pan Jiahua, a member of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, former director and researcher of the Institute of Ecological Civilization, commented on the above speeches and shared his research experience on the theme of the conference. Pan Jiahua pointed out that the reports of the speakers are rich in content, comprehensive and in-depth, and extremely enlightening. Carbon neutrality is an opportunity for rural revitalization, and rural revitalization also contributes to the process of carbon neutrality. Rural life and the quality of life and income of farmers can use the vast rural space for clean energy production. The provision of ecosystems and ecological services can contribute not only to the carbon neutrality of the countryside itself, but also to the carbon neutrality at the urban and national levels. During the question and answer session, other experts and scholars attending the meeting spoke enthusiastically and conducted in-depth exchanges and discussions on relevant contents.

At the end of the meeting, Craig Hansen, vice president of food, forest, water and ocean affairs of the World Resources Institute, and Wang Lei, director of the International Cooperation Bureau of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, made concluding remarks. Craig Hansen said that the discussion at this meeting was very exciting. Energy and food resources are at an equally important strategic height. It is necessary to take a multi-pronged approach from sustainable production, protection of the ecological environment, reduction of inefficiency and pollution, and restoration of land resources, and strive to ensure food through innovative forms, attracting investment, and increasing participation. Security and climate security.

Director Wang Lei said in his summary that addressing climate change and realizing rural revitalization is inseparable from the development and application of technology, reform and innovation at the institutional level, and research and exploration at the social level. China and the United States have different practices in different fields and under different environmental conditions, and have their own characteristics, which are worthy of mutual exchange and reference. Therefore, the two sides need to strengthen international exchanges and cooperation, learn and share advanced experience, and make it widely used. The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences looks forward to continuing to strengthen cooperation with various social organizations, scientific research institutions, and think tanks in the United States in the future, promoting cooperation between China and the United States, and contributing wisdom to the joint promotion of rural revitalization and sustainable human development.

(Contribution: Yu Ruonan, Contribution: Zhang Bin)