Agri-business forum opens in Beijing

Mr Huang Qifan, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Chongqing Municipal Committee, Mayor of Chongqing Municipality and CEIBS EMBA 1998 was the day's first keynote speaker. Using trial reforms being implemented in Chongqing as a reference point, he discussed the long-term challenges China faces in its efforts to bring about urban/rural integration. Hukou reform, labor shortages, social services and financial services were among the issues he discussed.

The second keynote speaker was Mr Zhu Baocheng, Member of the Party Leadership Group, China's Ministry of Agriculture. He is also Head of the Discipline Inspection Group in China's Ministry of Agriculture, and Chairman, China Good Agri-Products Development and Service Association (CGAPA). He spoke about the importance of brand building in developing China's agriculture sector. Stronger brands will help increase domestic consumption and will also enhance the competitiveness of Chinese products in the global market, he said.

China's role in the global agricultural industry was the topic explored by Mr Yu Xubo, Director and President of COFCO Corporation and CEIBS EMBA 2002. He said that COFCO is working to incorporate small farmers into the COFCO industrial chain. As China's agricultural sector develops, it will need to benchmark itself against other countries, he noted.

Mr Edward Y.M. Zhu, CEO, CHIC Group and CEIBS EMBA 2006 gave the final keynote speech of the morning. He made the point that education is the key to modernizing China's agriculture sector and that China's agricultural education systems must be improved in order to address the serious shortage of agribusiness talents. In his view, the goal of this process is to improve the living standards of farmers and rural workers, which will, in turn, help to develop agribusinesses. Urbanizing the farmers will also require developing a service industry and a system for high-quality vocational programs in rural areas, and treating agricultural work in a more professional and respectful manner.