First, they should further highlight the "agriculture+" cooperation model to tap the potential of agricultural cooperation. Facing changes in the international environment, more possibilities for cooperation have emerged in China-Latin America agricultural cooperation. For example, after the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, global fertilizer prices rose sharply, resulting in increased agricultural production costs. Brazil, Argentina and other countries are important importers of fertilizers, and have a high dependence on imports. If China and Latin America can explore further cooperation in this field, both sides will benefit. Brazil, Argentina and other countries have been affected by climate change. If China and Latin America can deepen cooperative research in the field of climate change, both sides will benefit.
At the second China-Latin America and Caribbean Agricultural Ministers' Forum, China announced that it would strive to bring total trade in agricultural products between China and Latin America to more than $100 billion by 2030. As long as the two sides work intensively, there is still huge potential for agricultural cooperation between China and Latin America, and it can lead to cooperation in more fields.
Second, the two sides should also continue to improve the institutional construction for China-Latin America agricultural cooperation and deepen the exchange of governance experience in the agricultural field. Policy communication is an important guarantee for the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, and institutional construction and top-level design are crucial for good policy coordination. Currently, the China-Latin America and Caribbean Agricultural Ministers' Forum has become an important platform for both sides to comprehensively deepen mutually beneficial agricultural cooperation. China has also established agricultural cooperation mechanisms with most Latin American countries. China has also put forward the Global Development Initiative and set up the China-LAC Cooperation Fund. How to make better use of these cooperation mechanisms and clarify their positioning is essential to further deepening China-Latin America agricultural cooperation. China and Latin America share similar goals in green agricultural development, food security and increase of farmers' income, and are exploring their own distinctive paths of agricultural modernization. Both sides should strengthen exchanges on governance experience in the agricultural field. Only by communicating more ideas and sharing China's development experience in rural vitalization and agricultural e-commerce with Latin American countries can we better explore a development path suitable for developing countries and truly shape China-Latin America agricultural cooperation into a model of South-South cooperation.
(The author is secretary-general of the Center for Latin American Studies at Renmin University of China. The author contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.)
