In 2024, China's grain output exceeded 700 million metric tons for the first time, marking a significant leap in the comprehensive revitalization of rural areas, and China's steady ascension to an agricultural powerhouse.

Wu Kongming, president of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), said this at the recently-concluded 2025 Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences Work Conference in Beijing, emphasizing CAAS's role in China's high-quality development and agricultural self-reliance.

Achievements recognized globally

In 2024, CAAS published more than 4,900 SCI/EI-indexed papers, including groundbreaking studies in Nature, Science, and Cell. Key advancements include unraveling genetic mechanisms in wheat, rice, and tomatoes, and developing high-yield, high-quality crops such as the soybean variety "Zhongdou 51."

Technological breakthroughs include a salt-tolerant farming model boosting maize yields by 15 percent on saline land, and cutting-edge animal vaccines. CAAS also supported national food security through precision planting techniques.

CAAS has garnered widespread recognition for its participation in global agricultural and technological governance. Its work on cross-border pest management earned the FAO Award for Achievement, and its "Guangming 2" chicken breed was exported to Pakistan and Tajikistan, contributing to global agricultural development and enhancing international agricultural trade cooperation.

CAAS's "go global" agricultural technology initiatives have shown notable success, including a three-year action plan for the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) on science and technology poverty reduction. Four of its achievements were recognized as the best practices for global poverty reduction at the Global Poverty Reduction and Development Forum.

Expanding cooperation

In 2025, CAAS aims to integrate into the global agricultural science and technology innovation network, foster multilateral and bilateral cooperation, and establish international agricultural organizations in China. Efforts include deepening collaborative research, leveraging BRI joint laboratories, and advancing platforms like the China-Africa Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Alliance, according to Wu.

With the help of its experimental bases along the border, CAAS will focus on specialty agriculture, promote technological products abroad, and build cross-border agricultural industry chains, forging a new pattern of regional cooperation, Wu said.

In addition, cooperation in poverty reduction through agricultural science and technology will be deepened to enhance the quality and efficiency of foreign assistance in agriculture. Furthermore, China will import important biological resources, advanced equipment, and key technologies to support scientific and technological innovation and industrial upgrading, Wu said.

CAAS will intensify efforts to attract high-level overseas talents, launch special programs for international talents, and actively carry out overseas aid training programs.

With a commitment to innovation and collaboration, CAAS aims to modernize agriculture and achieve sustainable development goals domestically and globally.