From January to November of 2020, China’s trade volume in agricultural products reached $222 billion, increased by 8.2 percent year-on year, said a statement from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs on Thursday.

Photo taken on June 5, 2020 shows agricultural machinery harvesting wheat at Handan in North China's Hebei province. (Photo: Xinhua)

Despite challenges from the pandemic and a complex international situation this year, the agricultural trade has scaled a new height, with spectacular achievements made in international cooperation, according to the ministry.

The ministry has taken a suite of measures to stabilize agricultural trade. It initiated construction of high-quality agricultural trade bases, guiding Guangdong, Guangxi, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Hebei and other provinces to standardize production. Innovative platforms, both online and offline, have been established to promote trade, including food expos and the Chinese Potato Expo.

Thanks to the adjustment of the tax rebate policy, the export of specialty agricultural products, such as fruit and tea, surged; the growth rate of aquatic products exports entered a positive territory. The Sino-Russian cooperation mechanism enabled overseas enterprises to recruit staff for spring seeding. Key enterprises prevailed over difficulties in the pandemic through “point-to-point” instruction by the ministry.

Chinese locust experts talk with local locust control staff in Tharparkar desert of Sindh province, Pakistan, Feb. 26, 2020. (Photo: Xinhua)

China has shouldered responsibilities as a major country in assisting other countries to deal with the pandemic and locust plague.

At the beginning of this year, desert locusts ravaged Pakistan and many African countries, posing a severe threat to local food security. The ministry deployed a working group to the frontline of Pakistan, which helped formulate disaster relief plans and carried out training on locust eradication. Chinese enterprises have resumed work and production immediately to supply medicine and equipment to Pakistan. China and Pakistan have signed relevant cooperation documents to establish a management center for long-term prevention and control on agricultural disasters.

(Translated by Liu Tongshan)