CÁTEDRA CHINA was co-organized by the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the Republic of Colombia and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Colombia on May 12. Scholars from both China and Colombia discussed the opportunities and challenges of agriculture sectors of both sides via video link.

Martha Lucia Ramirez, Vice President and Foreign Minister of Columbia, said that China is Colombia's second largest trading partner, largest source of imports, and largest source of direct investment in Asia. Both sides should seize this opportunity to enhance Colombia-China relations and jointly contribute to the progress of mankind, she added.

Lan Hu, Chinese Ambassador to Colombia, said China and Colombia are mutual development opportunities, we have broad prospects for cooperation in the fields of infrastructure construction, technological innovation, agricultural development, digital economy, culture and education.

Qiu Rongliang, Vice President of South China Agricultural University(SCAU) and Secretary General of the China-Latin America Agricultural Education and Research Innovation Alliance, gave a video presentation at the meeting and analyzed the prospects for sustainable agricultural development in Guangdong and Latin America.

Under the 'China-Latin America Alliance', universities in Guangdong, especially SCAU, have carried out a series of cooperation with Latin American countries and achieved fruitful results, covering agricultural science and education, establishment of research platforms, promotion of practical agricultural technology, construction of high-end think tanks, and some 'Chinese language + speciality projects'. 

Qiu also introduced latest research results of agriculture in SCAU, such as precision agricultural aviation technology, space mutation breeding, plant factories, rice-duck farming, intelligent agriculture and other related achievements.

In this meeting, some scholars said they were impressed by China's modern agricultural technology. They hoped that the both countries will achieve further cooperation and mutual learning in modern agriculture in the future. (Translated by Student Assistant Xie Yingying; Photo by Chinese Embassy in Colombia)