On September 21, "Sino-U.S High-level Forum on Agricultural Product Processing and Food Safety", sponsored jointly by the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology and the US Department of Agriculture, convened in Beijing. Altogether 120 government officials, famous scientists and entrepreneurs, including 40 from the US and 80 from China, participated in this 4-day forum. The forum received nearly 80 academic papers. LI Xueyong, Chinese Vice Minister of Science and Technology and Joseph Jen, US Undersecretary of Agriculture attended the opening ceremony of the forum and respectively delivered keynote addresses. HUI Liangyu, Member of the Political Bureau of CPC and Vice Premier of the State Council met with Undersecretary Joseph Jen and some experts present at this forum in Zhongnanhai.

This is another high-level Sino-US grand gathering for agricultural product processing and food safety. Representatives from both sides carried out extensive and in-depth exchange and discussion on the S&T issues of mutual concern related to agricultural product processing and food safety, including engineering technology, biotechnology, informatization technology and industrial development strategy of agricultural product processing, and food source safety key monitoring technology, food safety control technology and food safety insurance system etc. They achieved fruitful result in cooperative research and training of technical personnel. They also discussed effective paths for facilitating mutual S&T cooperation and the working mechanism for jointly establishing the "Sino-U.S Center for Agricultural Product Processing Technology Research" and held joint consultation on major areas of cooperative research and major technical issues to be resolved. This forum promoted the mutual exchange and cooperation among the S&T and industrial circles of the two countries in agricultural product processing and food safety and realized advantage complementation and win-win cooperation. It upgraded Sino-U.S. cooperation in the above areas to a new level and pushed forward the agricultural S&T progress and development of both countries and even the world.

During the Forum, the measures, methods and enduring work mechanism for the joint establishment of the "Sino-US Center for Agricultural Product Processing Technology Research" were studied and discussed in the spirit of the Sino-US "Agricultural Product Processing Cooperative Activity Protocol". With the Western Regional Research Center, USDA and Chinese Academy of Agricultural Mechanization Sciences taking the lead, the scientists and entrepreneurs of this field and people of all circles will be organized to carry out comprehensive exchange and cooperative research and make the utmost efforts for and active contribution to the development of the agricultural product processing industry of both countries.