Argentina, China to deepen cooperation in agriculture

BUENOS AIRES -- Officials from Argentina's Agriculture Ministry and China's State Administration of Grain (SAG) met in Buenos Aires on Tuesday to further strengthen bilateral ties, including grain production and commercialization.

The meeting's main focus was to deepen bilateral relations, with a special emphasis on expanding participation in cooperative sectors such as international commercialization of grain.

"We want to highlight the bilateral relation between Argentina and China, which is classified as a comprehensive policy by both governments. In the context of strengthening relations, we underline the meetings that have taken place recently to advance in topics related to the farming sector," said Javier Rodriguez, secretary of the Coordination for Political-Institutional and Emergency Farming.

"Successfully boosting the cooperative sector in international trade with the aim of extending opportunities to more producers is a fundamental policy of this government," said Rodriguez.

The Argentine Agriculture Ministry and the SAG formed a formal relationship in 2012 after both parties signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in grain.

"In recent years the cooperation has been going on smoothly and increased reciprocity," said Wu Zidan, deputy director of the SAG.

The two parties have agreed to form the Argentine-Chinese Joint Committee for the Cooperation in Grain. The first meeting of this new committee is proposed to be held in September.