On the very occasion celebrating the Agricultural Trade Promotion Centre (ATPC), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA)’s 15th Year Anniversary, the 11th Agricultural Trade Policies International Conference was organised by ATPC, FAO and OECD collaboratively from 1 to 2 December 2019 in Beijing. The GIZ Support of Regional Economic Cooperation in Asia (SRECA) project implemented on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) helped convene 20 agricultural trade policy makers and practitioners from Mongolia, Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam to participate in the conference.

Representatives from FAO, OECD, Korean Rural Economic Institute, and the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs reviewed the latest rural revitalisation policies and the agri-food trade market development in China and the world at the opening session. The conference then took the form of thematic forums and topics including market dynamics, agricultural trade policies, technological innovation and rural development via agricultural reforms were probed into.

While a more integrated agricultural trade ecosystem is called for, with a recognised government support of 700 billion USD in agriculture across countries every year, climate protection, healthier lifestyle and livelihood resilience are suggested to be repurposed towards for investment to lead to sustainable impacts.