Mutual benefits

Food security and agricultural development are a priority for cooperation between China and Africa.

Following the China-Africa Leaders' Dialogue in Johannesburg, South Africa, last year, China published the Plan for China Supporting Africa's Agricultural Modernization, adding new momentum to the cooperation.

Li, from China Agricultural University, said China's assistance to Africa is mutually beneficial.

Through aid programs, "we have gained insights into new crop planting systems, how Africans tackle challenges like water scarcity, fertilizer shortages, and financial constraints, and especially their diverse food sources and methods to obtain more plant-based protein," he explained.

"It helps us reassess ourselves from a global viewpoint and through the African lens," he added.

At a news conference on Aug 20, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning was asked about recent Chinese media reports of an African student studying agricultural technology in China.

She said that China empathized with the aspirations of the African people to become free of hunger.

China-Africa agricultural cooperation has flourished in recent years, with significant achievements in expert technical assistance and training, transfer of advanced technology, construction of agricultural parks, and promotion of crop planting projects such as hybrid rice and fungi strains, Mao said.

This has greatly enriched the "grain bags" and "grocery baskets "of the African people and promoted African agricultural modernization, she added.

lilei@chinadaily.com.cn