Shanxi province and the Ministry of Agriculture signed an agreement, in Beijing, on March 11, for strategic cooperation in developing Shanxi’s characteristic agriculture. On hand for the signing ceremony were Yuan Chunqing, Shanxi’s Party secretary, Li Xiaopeng, the Shanxi governor, and Han Changfu, agriculture minister. The memorandum centers on building Shanxi into an important characteristic agricultural base for the nation, and cooperating in high-yield grains, various crops, the garden business, animal husbandry, fisheries, water-saving agriculture, agricultural machinery, agricultural products industry, marketing, and agricultural product and services information.

Li said he appreciated the support and help the ministry has given Shanxi and that the memorandum will help with the standardization, scale, level of intensification, and industrialization of the province’s agricultural. In return, Han congratulated the province on its achievements in economic and social development, especially agriculture and said the memorandum will give the ministry an opportunity to increase its cooperation with other provinces, provide services and support and develop more key projects and policies.

Edited by Roger Bradshaw