China aims to boost scientific and technological exchanges in biosafety

China is ready to work with various sides to rev up scientific and technological exchanges over biosafety and support for international organizations to tackle related issues, a senior agricultural official has said.

Wu Kongming, President of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, said that biosafety concerns the development interests of all humanity.

"Only through comprehensive global cooperation, scientific management, and the integrated application of technology can the world effectively address biosafety challenges," he said at the opening ceremony of the International Symposium on Plant Biosafety, which opened in Kunming, Yunnan province, on Oct 30.

Wu, also a senior Party official at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, said that Chinese government attaches great importance to plant biosafety and has emphasized on multiple occasions the need to strengthen the construction of the national biosafety risk prevention and control system.

A global panel of experts, including Daniel Elger, CEO of CAB International, a nonprofit agricultural solution provider, praised the role played by CAAS in safeguarding biosafety, and expressed hope that the academy could further promote international cooperation in plant biosafety and enhancing the capabilities of countries to jointly respond to major biosafety threats, and building a biosafety community for plants.

More than 300 experts and scholars from 16 countries involved in biological control fields, including Germany, New Zealand, Italy, Laos, and Vietnam, as well as domestic promotion and research departments such as the National Agricultural Technology Extension and Service Center of China and Yunnan Agricultural University, attended the conference.