Second, the scope and channels for agricultural cooperation should be expanded to push for the integration of industry and value chains and promote high-quality development of the agricultural sector.

Based on Belt and Road countries' respective agricultural resource endowments, the warehousing and logistics networks such as the China-Europe freight trains, and diversified market demands, China and other Belt and Road countries should build an industry and supply chain for key farm produce along the Belt and Road, so as to achieve effective alignment of domestic and international supply and demand and coordinated development of supply and industry chains to strengthen the resilience of those chains.

Third, with technological cooperation as the guide, they should promote the sharing of benefits of technological progress in agriculture.

By bolstering cooperation in agricultural technologies they can activate overseas agricultural production factors to promote local agricultural development and increase local farmers' incomes. Focusing on the modern seed industry, soil health, biotechnology, and smart agriculture, they should make the utmost of the demonstrative effect of leading technologies and advance whole-industry-chain cooperation on agriculture led by technological cooperation and supported by agricultural cooperation.

Fourth, they should boost cooperation on the global governance of food security to ensure food security and regional stability.

China has accumulated rich experience and achieved remarkable progress in ensuring food security, reducing poverty, promoting rural development and advancing South-South cooperation, providing it an opportunity to help other developing nations to enhance their comprehensive production capacity for major farm produce. The Belt and Road countries have extraordinary agricultural resource endowments and huge potential in food production, laying a solid foundation for trade cooperation on farm produce.

Li Chunding is a professor at the School of Economics and Management at China Agricultural University and executive vice-dean of the Belt and Road International Agricultural Products Circulation Innovation Institute. Li Juan is a doctoral student at the same school. The authors contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily.

Contact the editor at editor@chinawatch.cn.