Letter on Calling for Overseas Cooperation Parks of the “International Agricultural Science and Technology Experimental Demonstration Project”

In order to promote cooperation and exchanges in modern agricultural science and technology between China and the member states of the SCO and countries along the “Belt and Road” initiative, we are now soliciting cooperation parks for international agricultural science and technology experimental and demonstration projects in Chinese-funded agricultural projects in SCO countries and countries along the Belt and Road. The details are as follows:

1. Project Background
The SCO Demonstration Base for Agricultural Technology Exchange and Training (hereinafter referred to as the “SCO Agricultural Base”) is located in the Shaanxi Yangling Agricultural Hi-tech Industries Demonstration Zone (hereinafter referred to as the “Yangling Demonstration Zone”). It is an international agricultural exchange and cooperation organization initiated by the Chairman Xi Jinping at the Shkek Summit of the SCO Heads of State in 2019 and approved by the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Its main function is to Carry out agricultural exchanges, training and demonstrations among SCO member states, and promote economic and trade exchanges.
Yangling Demonstration Zone is China’s first national-level Agricultural High-tech Industrial Demonstration Zone. It has the national mission of promoting agricultural development in arid and semi-arid areas, and implements a special provincial-ministerial joint construction system. At the same time, it has the only agricultural free trade area and comprehensive agricultural bonded area in the country, and undertakes the mission of “comprehensively promoting international cooperation and exchanges in the agricultural field and building a modern agricultural international cooperation center for the ‘Belt and Road Initiative’". The agricultural science and education resources in the Yangling Demonstration Zone are highly concentrated. There are many universities and research institutes such as Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University. It has more than 70 scientific research platforms above the provincial and ministerial level and nearly 7,000 agricultural science and education talents, covering five major disciplines in the field of agriculture, forestry and water.
Yangling has a good foundation and conditions for promoting international agricultural cooperation and exchanges, and has become an important window and platform for agricultural cooperation and exchanges between China and countries along the “Belt and Road” initiative. It has established 14 overseas agricultural parks in Central Asia, Russia, Ukraine, etc., and has promoted more than 32 agricultural science and technology projects and 8 agricultural science and technology enterprises to go global. As China’s foreign aid training base, it has trained more than 3,000 agricultural government officials and technical personnel from various countries. Overseas exhibitors from more than 50 countries participate in the Yangling Agricultural High-tech Fair every year.
2. Basic conditions
(1) Implementation unit. The project is managed by the SCO Demonstration Base for Agricultural Technology Exchange and Training Office and the Yangling Demonstration Zone Modern Agriculture and Rural Revitalization Bureau. Yangling Modern Agriculture International Cooperation Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Yangling International Cooperation Company”) is responsible for its organization and implementation.
(2) Implementation period. 2022-2024, a total of 3 years.
(3) Basic objectives. Facing the countries along the “Belt and Road Initiative”and the SCO countries, it selects 10 to 20 Chinese-funded agricultural investment projects every year, and cooperates to carry out agricultural-related scientific and technological achievements test demonstrations and international agricultural scientific and technological training activities. In this way, domestic and foreign cooperation in agricultural technology, production capacity, trade and cultural exchanges will be promoted.
(4) Conditions of cooperation parks
1. The parks (projects) to be cooperated are located in the countries along the “Belt and Road”, and the parks (projects) located in the member states and observer countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization are given priority;
2. In principle, the operator of the park should be controlled by Chinese capital, with clear property rights and a clear equity structure. The operator can independently arrange agricultural production without being restricted by a third party;
3. The planting area of the agricultural industrial park should not be less than 200 hectares;
4. The operator should have rich agricultural knowledge, understand the local agricultural market and agricultural policies, and have the ability to identify international markets;
5. It should have a long-term business plan in the local area, intend to introduce domestic species and equipment for test demonstration, or introduce domestic capital cooperation, or have the need to enter the international trade of seeds, agricultural clothing, and agricultural products in the host country.
(5) Cooperation content
1. Test demonstration. In view of the needs of the partners, introducing new species and new technologies from domestic universities, research institutes, and agricultural enterprises to the cooperative park for free, carrying out experimental demonstration activities in the park, and subsidizing related management and maintenance costs based on the progress or benefits of the experimental demonstration;
2. Technology training. Organizing domestic experts in relevant fields to cooperate in carrying out online or offline agricultural technology training and consulting according to the needs of experimental demonstration;
3. Personnel exchange. Subsidizing domestic agricultural colleges and scientific research institutes, scientific and technical personnel, college students, etc. to carry out internships and exercises according to the needs of the park;
4. Display promotion. Providing public booths for the cooperative parks to promote parks and products at China Yangling Agricultural Hi-Tech Fair;
5. Industrial cooperation. Based on the results of experiments and demonstrations, qualified overseas agricultural investment enterprises can, by means of capital injection, cooperate in seed industry, agricultural services and other upstream agricultural industries in the host country; or carry out trade cooperation through transnational contract agriculture; or recommend domestic companies interested in cooperation according to the needs of the park.
The parks that meet the development conditions can be recommended to be included in the system of the “SCO (Yangling) Overseas Agricultural Demonstration Park” as the core park for agricultural cooperation and exchanges between China and the host country, carrying out all-round international cooperation and exchanges in the field of agriculture.
(6) Subsidy methods

Relevant activities jointly carried out with cooperative parks will be subsidized in the form of physical objects or services, and the annual subsidy amount for a single park will not exceed 300,000 yuan.
3.Cooperation mode of projects
The international agricultural science and technology experiment demonstration project is based on the construction of the Agricultural Demonstration Base of the SCO and the “Belt and Road Initiative” Modern Agricultural International Cooperation Center and take the international agriculture-related trade and production capacity cooperation as the foothold. Now it is exploring the following cooperation models:
　
(1) Construction of an overseas demonstration and promotion center for new species. Focusing on staple food varieties and economic crops, we establish an international joint laboratory, carrying out new variety test demonstrations to improve new varieties that have good economic or social benefits and are suitable for the local area. And we promote the marketing certification of new varieties in the countries where new varieties apply, and build overseas new variety demonstrations Promotion center to develop overseas markets.
(2) The training mode of the whole industry chain. Relying on the platform of the SCO Demonstration Base for Agricultural Technology Exchange and Training, we cooperate with providers of new technologies and new species to develop a full-industry training course integrating agronomic skills and field operations for the development of overseas agricultural park industries, so as to solve the training needs of the park and improve the production of the park efficiency.
(3) Contract farming cooperation model. We give full play to the functions of the Yangling Area of China (Shaanxi) Pilot Free Trade Zone and the Yangling Comprehensive Bonded Zone in Shaanxi Province, coordinating the demand of domestic market and issue orders for overseas agricultural parks to help the park digest production capacity.
(4) International agricultural production capacity cooperation model. Relying on the overseas agricultural park system of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Agricultural Technology Exchange and Training Demonstration Base, we actively promote and introduce agricultural parks invested and cooperated by Chinese capital and agricultural enterprises, developing cross-border barter trade and building an international agricultural supply chain system for overseas warehouses to comprehensively promote international Agricultural production capacity cooperation.
4. Other matters
The Chinese legal person or natural person in the overseas cooperation park fills in the application form for the overseas cooperation park, and attaches the corporate business license of the project legal person as required. After the project is selected, Yangling Modern Agriculture International Cooperation Co., Ltd. will sign a cooperation agreement with the project applicant.
Contact: Overseas Project Department, Yangling Modern Agriculture International Cooperation Co., Ltd. 
Contact address: Room 216, 2nd Floor, No. 1, Sub-No. 9, Youtai Road, Yangling Demonstration Zone, Shaanxi Province
Contact number: 029-87030196 Contact WeChat: nihaowzg
Attachment: Application Form for Overseas Cooperation Parks

Attachment:

Application Form for Overseas Cooperation Demonstration Park of SCO Agricultural Base

June 2, 2022