President Hu Jintao said in Beijing?Wednesday that China
will open wider its agricultural sector to the outside world in a
bid to develop agriculture and the rural economy.
Hu said in a speech at the opening ceremony of the ministerial
conference of the 27th FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of
the United Nations) Regional Conference for Asia and Pacific that
China will actively cooperate with other countries in developing
agriculture.
"We will pay particular attention to exploring and developing
new ways, means and approaches of cooperation with countries in the
Asia-Pacific region with the aim to achieve reciprocal results and
benefit people of the whole region," he said.
The Chinese president said countries in the region should make
unremitting efforts for the development of agriculture and rural
economy, and conduct cooperation on the basis of seeking common
ground while reserving differences, learning from each other,
mutual respect and mutual benefit.
In addition, Hu proposed countries in the region enlarge
opening, lower tariffs and eliminate trade barriers.
The FAO conference, whose senior officials meeting wound up
Wednesday, has touched upon topics ranging from the growing of
rice, change of weather, food security and rural development, among
others.
Ministerial-level delegations from 35 FAO members in the region
and organs of the UN attended the conference.
China has been a big agricultural producer and big agricultural
products consumer. Hu said the development of China's agriculture
is of vital importance to the country's economic growth and social
stability as well as world economic growth and food safety.
He said China will increase support to the development of
agriculture and upgrade the infrastructure construction in the
rural area.
(Xinhua News Agency May 20, 2004)
