On March 21, 2019, SUN Qixin, President of China Agricultural University (hereinafter referred to as CAU), attended the Workshop on Promoting Global South-South Cooperation by "the Belt and Road" South-South Cooperation Agricultural League (BRSSCAL) held by CAU in Buenos Aires during attending the UN Conference on South-South Cooperation (hereinafter referred to as the Conference), with the leaders from 9 domestic agriculture-related universities, such as Nanjing Agricultural University and Huazhong Agricultural University, participating in the forum, which was presided over by FENG Weizhe, Director of the International Office, CAU.

    On the forum, FENG Weizhe first reported the work progress of the BRSSCAL in the past year, the preparation for the 2nd Conference of BRSSCAL, and the construction and promotion of the BRSSCAL International Cooperation Center along the "Belt and Road". XU Xiuli, Deputy Dean of China Institute for South-South Cooperation in Agriculture (CISSCA), CAU, summarized the achievements made by CAU during the Conference. After that, the participating member institutions exchanged their experience in the construction of the "Belt and Road" and South-South Cooperation.

    Finally, SUN Qixin made a summary speech, in which he pointed out three aspects. Firstly, it was of great significance that these domestic colleges and universities attended the Conference, which was organized by BRSSCAL. It was an important opportunity not only to learn, understand and communicate, but also to propagandize Chinese experience to other developing countries. Many domestic universities have obtained significant achievements in South-South Cooperation in the past, but their theories or practices have not been included into the global South-South cooperation system for further improvement and development since they have not actively aligned with the UN’s South-South cooperation system. CAU has made unremitting efforts in this regard by building a think tank and an international exchange and cooperation platform through the establishment of CISSCA, BRSSCAL and other mechanisms. Undertaken by CISSCA, the poverty reduction project between China and Africa in Tanzania has been making active use of the resources of the UN’s South-South cooperation system and carrying out extensive publicity and exchange in this system. The project achievements have been recognized by the United Nations, and at the same time, the project has also shared China's experience with other countries in South-South cooperation. Secondly, domestic colleges and universities are focusing on the "double first-class" cooperative construction, and the development of world-class universities cannot be separated from their roles in the major national development period. As China is rising peacefully at present, the "Belt and Road" initiative and the building of a community of shared future for mankind have been put forward, and international development has become necessary for top universities. It has become the responsibility of a great power to research and actively participate in international development and also one of the key responsibilities and focuses for colleges and universities. Thirdly, we should take the opportunity of this Conference to summarize the experience and achievements of the member universities of BRSSCAL in the "Belt and Road" South-South Cooperation in a timely manner, explore how to integrate participation in international development into the development of first-class universities, and contribute more to the promotion of the "Belt and Road" initiative education.

    The attendees at this Conference included JIN Weiwei, Dean of the College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, CAU, GUO Pei, Dean of the College of Economics and Management, CAU, FENG Jiang, President of Jilin Agricultural University, GAO Julin, President of Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, ZHANG Chuanhui, President of Tarim University, WU Ping, Vice President of Huazhong Agricultural University, YANG Zhou, Vice President of South China Agricultural University, LI Shunlong, Vice President of Northeast Forestry University, YU Lihe, Vice President of Heilongjiang Bayi Agricultural University, CHEN Jie, Director of International Office, Nanjing Agricultural University, and responsible persons from the related departments of these 9 domestic agriculture-related universities.