A memorandum of understanding on establishing the China (Shandong)-US Agricultural Exchange and Cooperation Mechanism is signed at the 2024 China-US Agriculture Roundtable in Jinan, Shandong province on June 7. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]

The 2024 China-US Agriculture Roundtable was held in Jinan, capital of East China's Shandong province on June 7. 

A memorandum of understanding on establishing the China (Shandong)-US Agricultural Exchange and Cooperation Mechanism was signed at the conference, for promoting agricultural exchanges and cooperation between Shandong province and the United States.  

The memorandum was signed among the Foreign Affairs Office of Shandong Provincial People's Government, the United States Heartland China Association, Shandong Provincial Department of Agricultural and Rural Affairs, the US Soybean Export Council and the US Grains Council.

According to the mechanism, more efforts will be made among these parities in promoting people-to-people exchanges and mutual visits, expanding trade of agro-products, and boosting agricultural technology cooperation. 

Shandong and the United States have broad cooperation prospects in agricultural development, said Zhou Naixiang, governor of Shandong. 

Shandong is a major agricultural province and a major grain producer in China. In 2023, Shandong exported agricultural products worth 147.6 billion yuan ($20.37 billion), accounting for 21.2 percent of the total value of the country's agricultural exports, according to Zhou. 

He hoped that both sides will use this roundtable as an opportunity to further deepen agricultural dialogue and exchange and expend cooperation in areas such as agricultural trade, food loss reduction, and smart agriculture.

"The United States and China maintain strong agricultural cooperation," US Ambassador to China Robert Nicholas Burns said via a video link. "We look forward to continuing to facilitate cooperation in agriculture to support our mutual goals of food security, climate-smart agriculture, and trade facilitation," he added. 

The China-US Agriculture Roundtable was established in 2021 by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the United States Heartland China Association and has become an important platform for communication of agricultural cooperation between China and the United States. This year marks the fourth edition and the first time it is being held in China, with a theme centered around "Food Security and Agricultural Cooperation".