China's agricultural policies have demonstrated remarkable consistency, underscoring the country's commitment to advancing rural development, Carlos Aldeco, the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) China representative, told China Global Television Network (CGTN) in a recent interview.
China, the world's largest developing country and a global leader in agricultural development, has been dedicated to safeguarding food security, Alder said, highlighting the focus of China's annual "No. 1 central documents," the first policy statement released by China's central authorities each year, on agricultural development.
"I think China has put in place very interesting policies to promote agricultural development. The No.1 Documents issued by the central government have been highlighting topics related to farmers, agriculture, and rural development for more than 20 years. This highlights the consistency in China's agriculture policies over decades and also shows the systematic approach that China has to advance rural development," said Aldeco.
Aldeco also highlighted China's strong investment in the agricultural sector, which is a driving force behind the sector's growth and underpins the implementation of policies.
"Most importantly, this consistency in China's agricultural policy-making is coupled with targeted investments which reinforced those policies, accelerating China's development in the agricultural sector," said Aldeco.
FAO representative speaks highly of China's agricultural policies
Chinese and foreign scientists have jointly carried out a series of exchange and investigation activities this week to respond to the United Nations' initiative on glacier preservation.
The United Nations declared 2025 as the International Year of Glaciers' Preservation, accompanied by the proclamation of the 21st March of each year as the World Day for Glaciers starting in 2025.
A public advocacy and glacier investigation activity with the initiative of "Let the Glacier Cool" was launched at Dagu Glacier scenic area in southwest China's Sichuan Province, a key place in global glacier preservation, from Monday to Tuesday.
In 2024, the Global Glacier Loss List (GGCL) project was jointly launched by Rice University, the University of Iceland, the Icelandic Glaciological Society, the World Glacier Monitoring Service (WGMS), and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
The project tracks recently disappeared, almost disappeared, and critically endangered glaciers worldwide. Among them, the Dagu Glacier is the only glacier in China on the list.
In this regard, Chinese and foreign glacier experts and scholars conducted in-depth investigations into the changes in Dagu Glacier during the event.
"Let China's voice be heard in the 2025 International Year of Glaciers' Preservation, World Day for Glaciers, and the Decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences. We need to awaken people's awareness of glacier changes, and everyone can reduce emissions and live a green life to slow down global warming, so that we can prolong the life of glaciers," said Li Zhongqin, a researcher at the Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources (NIEER) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).
Meanwhile, the Dagu Glacier International Academic Summit Forum was held in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan, from Sunday to Tuesday.
The forum was jointly organized by the NIEER, the Center for Glacier Research of the National Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan, the Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment (IMHE) under the CAS, and the Sichuan Dagu Glacier Administration Bureau.
More than 100 glaciologists, climate policy experts and representatives of international organizations from more than 10 countries including China, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, the United States and the United Kingdom, attended the conference online and offline, and had in-depth dialogues on the scientific challenges and international cooperation in global glacier protection.
"Because of global warming, glaciers around the world are generally melting. For example, the latest research data released last month showed that the annual loss of global glaciers, if converted into water equivalent, is 273 billion tons. The public can clearly see that the glaciers are shrinking rapidly and disappearing rapidly," said Kang Shichang, director of the IMHE.
Global experts gather in Sichuan to respond to UN glacier initiative
