2018 “Africa Day” Cultural Exchange Event was held in Guangzhou on May 25th. It was co-hosted by Guangdong Public Diplomacy Association, Institute for African Studies of GDUFS, Department of Agriculture of Guangdong Province, and Guangdong New South Group Co., LTD. Attending the event were officials from Consulate General of African countries, including Angola, Ethiopia, Mali, Nigeria, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal, Uganda and Zambia, Mr. Fu Lang, Executive Vice-President of Guangdong Public Diplomacy Association, Mr. Chen Dong, Deputy Director of Department of Agriculture of Guangdong Province, as well as representatives from cooperative universities and enterprises, more than 50 people in total.
Morning activities took Guangdong-Africa agricultural cooperation as the theme. Mr, Liu Jisen, Executive President of Institute for African Studies, hosted the event, and Mr. Fu Lang delivered a speech on behalf of Guangdong Public Diplomacy Association.
Mr. Fu Lang’s Speech
Mr. Fu Lang thought highly of the event. “Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Summit will be held in Beijing this year. To host 2018 ‘Africa Day’ Cultural Exchange Event are of practical significance, for it will create great atmosphere for the Summit, and embody the contributions Guangdong Province make to China-Africa cooperation, especially at the significant juncture of the 40th anniversary of reform and opening up,” said Mr. Fu Lang.
Mr. Fu Lang highlighted China-Africa agricultural cooperation. Mr. Fu Lang put, “Agricultural cooperation is one of China-Africa cooperation, therefore, great attention should be attached. China-Africa agricultural cooperation has great prospective, since Africa has vast land and great climate conditions, and China has a long history of agricultural cultivation, advanced agricultural technology, as well as abundant capitals.” He mentioned that Zhenjiang, Yangjiang and Maoming desired to achieve the goal of “going global”, according to investigations carried out two weeks ago. As Mr. Fu Lang put, Public Diplomacy Association would promote China-Africa cooperation on agriculture and Chinese traditional medicine by sharing resources, information and achievements.
Mr. Chen Dong, Deputy Director of Department of Agriculture of Guangdong Province also delivered a speech in which he expressed his wish. He took Mauritius’s black tea for example and hoped that China-Africa cooperation would be conductive to the import of quality agricultural products from Africa as well as China’s promotion of agricultural technology to African countries.
Mr. Chen Dong’s Speech
To strengthen Guandong-Africa agricultural cooperation, five suggestions have been put forward by Mr. Chen Dong. First, dialogue mechanism should be established which makes it possible for Guangdong’s agricultural enterprises and officials from Consulate General of African countries to learn each other’s needs through communication. Second, trade on agricultural products can become more convenient by means of cross-border e-commerce. Third, agricultural strategies should be implemented. Department of Agriculture of Guangdong Province makes every effort to support enterprises with great potential to enter African market, to establish industrial areas in Africa, and to develop into top 10 enterprises in Guangdong. Forth, Institute for African Studies of GDUFS should well investigate information about agricultural resources, policies and business environment in Africa so as to better serve Guangdong’s enterprises which are willing to enter African market. Fifth, brand strategies should be implemented. It’s necessary to make Guangdong’s agricultural brands familiar to African countries, and to introduce African quality agricultural products into Chinese market.
In the morning activities, Mr. Lin Lu, Director of Guangdong Agricultural Technology Extension Station, reviewed international cooperation on agriculture. Mr. Zhang Hanyue, Director of Guangdong Modern Agricultural Equipment Research Institute, introduced various types of agricultural equipment whose categories cover breeding, planting, harvesting, and deep processing. Mr. Wang Yunbo, Dean of Department of Food Science and Engineering at Foshan University, introduced research achievements and progress of China-Africa maize cooperation project.
After morning activities, attenders paid a visit to Guangdong Agricultural Technology Extension Station.
A Introduction to Vegetables’ Growth in Greenhouse
Officials from Consulate General’s Visit to Agricultural Planting Demonstration Base
The afternoon activities focused on Gaungdong-Africa cooperation on Chinese traditional medicine. Mr. Pan Longhua, general manager of Guangdong New South Artemisinic Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. warmly welcomed guests’ visit. In this visit, visitors learned achievements New South Group made to fight against malaria in Africa; they visited the laboratory and watched publicity videos. Visitors all thought highly of New South Group’s contributions to China’s medical aid in Africa.
Mr. Fu Lang and Mr. Pan Longhua
Group Photo
