Technology builds bridges, trade paves the way: China's agricultural cooperation with SCO member states yields "shared prosperity."
Release date:
2025-09-15
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China Daily Online, September 2 – "I was instantly hooked the first time I tasted Chinese kiwifruit—it’s now become my family’s absolute favorite!" In a supermarket in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, Aiguli Sadikova is picking up kiwifruits sourced from Shaanxi Province, China. This scene vividly illustrates the growing strength of agricultural cooperation between China and the SCO member states.
China Daily Online, September 2 – "I was instantly hooked the first time I tasted Chinese kiwifruit—it’s now become my family’s absolute favorite!" In a supermarket in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, Aiguli Sadikova is picking up kiwifruits sourced from Shaanxi Province, China. This scene vividly illustrates the growing and increasingly robust agricultural cooperation between China and the SCO member states.
Taste buds often serve as the most direct bridge connecting people’s hearts. In 2024, Shaanxi Province alone exported 30,000 tons of fruit to regions including SCO member countries. China’s high-quality fruits have earned trust through their consistent supply, while specialty agricultural products from Central Asia—such as honey and nuts—are increasingly making their way onto shelves in Chinese markets.
From orchards on the Loess Plateau to cotton fields in Central Asia, from water-saving irrigation technologies to groundbreaking innovations in seed science—along this "green" path of cross-border collaboration, seeds are sprouting, and hope is flourishing.
In Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, a local consumer is shopping for Chinese fruits. (Source: People's Daily Overseas Edition)
As a key area of economic cooperation within the SCO region, agriculture has seen significant progress since the SCO Agricultural Base was established in Yangling, Shaanxi Province, back in 2019. Since then, a comprehensive collaboration system has been put in place, spanning technology R&D, talent cultivation, and the commercialization of research outcomes. Data shows that over the past six years, the base has jointly set up four joint laboratories and 20 training facilities with other member states. Additionally, it has dispatched 73 expert teams across multiple missions, conducting comparative trials on 115 superior varieties across 13 major categories—driving the cross-border application and implementation of numerous innovative technologies.
Cooperation between China and other SCO member states extends far beyond technical exchanges and sharing—it also encompasses deep, robust interactions in the economic and trade sectors. In 2025, Yangling Demonstration Zone’s “export schedule” vividly highlights the growing momentum of this collaboration. Meanwhile, in 2024, trade between China and other SCO members reached approximately $512.4 billion, representing a 2.7% year-on-year increase. Notably, China imported $13.66 billion worth of agricultural products from these member countries. This mutually beneficial partnership model has unleashed remarkable growth potential, underscoring the dynamic vitality and complementary strengths driving their collaborative efforts.
The implementation of technological exchanges is quietly transforming the daily lives and production processes of people in other SCO member countries. In a cotton field on the outskirts of Tashkent, Uzbekistan, a smart irrigation system developed by China has enabled a 5-hectare demonstration plot using water-saving drip irrigation to achieve over a 200% increase in cotton yield—while simultaneously cutting water usage by 50%. Today, this technology has already been rolled out across 2 million hectares in Central Asian nations, with projections indicating it could help Uzbekistan save between 8 billion and 10 billion cubic meters of agricultural water annually.
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China Daily Online, September 2 – "I was instantly hooked the first time I tasted Chinese kiwifruit—it’s now become my family’s absolute favorite!" In a supermarket in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, Aiguli Sadikova is picking up kiwifruits sourced from Shaanxi Province, China. This scene vividly illustrates the growing strength of agricultural cooperation between China and the SCO member states.
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