Chinese VP pledges to deepen China-U.S. agricultural co-op

DES MOINES, the United States, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping said here Thursday that China and the United States should enhance collaboration in science and technology, promote bilateral trade and strengthen information exchanges so as to further deepen agricultural cooperation.

Addressing the China-U.S. High Level Agricultural Symposium held in the capital of Iowa, Xi said cooperation and exchanges between China and the United States in agriculture have maintained good momentum in recent years, primarily because both nations are big agricultural countries and enjoy vast shared interests and ample room for cooperation in the area.

It is also because China has fully implemented its World Trade Organization (WTO) commitment in the past decade, and reduced its tariffs on agricultural products to one quarter of the world's average, said Xi, who is in a five-day official visit to the United States.

In the past 10 years, the average annual increase of China-U.S. agricultural trade exceeded 20 percent. Bilateral trade volumes on agricultural products surpassed 30 billion U.S. dollars in 2011, making China the biggest export market for U.S. agricultural products, the vice president said.

The rapid increase of China-U.S. trade in agricultural products not only benefits the peoples of both countries, but also has found appropriate export markets for high-quality agricultural products from both countries, Xi said.

Moreover, the two countries have attached great importance to agriculture, and have conducted smooth and effective dialogue and substantial cooperation under such mechanisms as the China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue, the China-U.S. Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade and the China-U.S. Joint Commission on Agriculture, he said.

On further deepening China-U.S. agricultural cooperation, Xi called on both countries to enhance cooperation in science and technology, and make all efforts to improve the efficiency of agricultural production and push for sustainable development of agriculture.

Besides, the two countries should step up economic and trade cooperation, create a fair and rational market environment and fully tap their potential for cooperation, he said.

Both sides should also strengthen coordination and communication on international hotspot issues regarding agriculture and share information with each other, Xi said.