President Du Zhixiong Meets Guests of European Foundation for Human Progress

On the afternoon of May 13, 2013, Du Zhixiong, President of the Association, and Zhang Xiaoshan, former director of the Institute of Rural Development, met with visiting old friends, Mr. Wu Han, head of the Asian project of the European Foundation for Human Progress, Professor Jin Siyan, director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Aldova in France, and Mr. Chen Lichuan, president of the (French) Cultural Media Association. Secretary-General Tan Xuewen attended the meeting.

The Human Progress Foundation (FPH) where Mr. Wu Han works has a long-term friendly cooperative relationship with the Agricultural Development Institute and the Association. He once co-hosted the 2005 Coastal Fishery Survey and the 2008 Shandong Sustainable Food Supply Chain International Forum with us. We also published the book "Sustainable Food Supply Chain: Practice from China" based on cooperative research.

The purpose of Mr. Wu Han's visit is to discuss the possibility, feasibility, specific cooperation content and plan with the Rural Development Institute and the Association on the Eating City project and other issues of interest. Du Zhixiong and Zhang Xiaoshan respectively responded positively to the above proposals, expressing their willingness to maintain close contact and consultation with the European side on relevant cooperation proposals, and choose the opportunity to promote relevant cooperation and exchange projects when reaching an agreement on relevant issues.

The Eating City project is an action jointly initiated by FPH and the Italian RISTECO to improve the sustainability of the urban food supply system. It has many years of practice and rich experience in Europe, and has also carried out a number of seminars and research activities in China. We have expressed strong interest and positive attitude in this regard, and expressed our willingness to seize the opportunity to carry out follow-up research activities.

Du Zhixiong also introduced to the European guests a monograph that we are organizing members to jointly write to review the changes in the world agricultural development pattern since the establishment of WTO and the entry of agriculture into WTO 20 years ago. He proposed that if the foundation is interested, it can take the opportunity of the publication of the book to jointly hold an international seminar on the impact of WTO accession in the first half of 2014. Mr. Wu Han expressed a clear interest in this, and the two sides are willing to keep in touch at any time on the above issues and reach an agreement on specific issues as soon as possible.