The first meeting to launch the third phase of the Sino-German Agricultural Centre (DCZ) was held on Friday, stressing the importance of continued cooperation in the fields of food and agriculture between Germany and China.

Li Zhiping, deputy director-general of the Foreign Economic Cooperation Center at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and Cornelia Berns, deputy director-general for International Cooperation and World Food Affairs at Germany's Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, delivered speeches to the meeting.

The Managing Director of the DCZ, Mr. Jurgen Ritter, presented the work plan for 2022, which was later officially approved.

Both sides highlighted the importance of the bilateral partnership as a platform for exchange on challenges such as food security and the climate crisis that affect the agricultural sector.

Topics including digital farming, food loss and waste, and seed development were highlighted as important areas of cooperation in addressing these challenges.

Wei Zhenglin, deputy director-general for the ministry's Department of International Cooperation, emphasized Germany's role as key partner in China's agricultural modernization.

Berns expressed Germany's interest in learning more about China's solutions to agricultural digitalization.

Established in March 2015, the DCZ is the central point of contact and platform in charge of coordinating bilateral cooperation between Germany and China on agriculture and food. In April this year, the project entered its third phase.