On April 23, 2019, Zhang Jianguo, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and Technology and Administrator of the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs, met with Luis Renato Alvarado Rivera, Minister of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry of Costa Rica and his delegation in Beijing. The two sides had an in-depth exchange of views on China-Costa Rica cooperation in agricultural science and technology.

Vice Minister Zhang Jianguo briefed the Costa Rican side on the development of science, technology and innovation in China and said that with the increasing investment in research, China has made remarkable achievements in manned spaceflight, manned deep-sea submersible, high-speed rail, AI, etc., which play a strong role in boosting economic and social development. He remarked that China‘s science, technology and innovation is open and inclusive and that Latin American countries are important partners of China in science, technology and innovation. Vice Minister Zhang Jianguo said that China is ready to carry out pragmatic cooperation with Costa Rica in the field of agricultural science and technology and that the both sides can make good use of the China-Latin America Platform for Promoting Cooperation in Agricultural Science and Technology and the Talented Young Scientist Program to enhance exchanges and cooperation between research institutions and science and technology personnel of the two countries in the field of agriculture.

Minister Alvarado appreciated China’s achievements in science, technology and innovation and said that Costa Rica attaches great importance to its science and technology cooperation with China and is willing to learn from China‘s advanced experience in smart agriculture, germplasm resources, photovoltaic agriculture, big data and agricultural risk management and control, and promote the demonstration and popularization of China’s advanced agricultural technologies in Costa Rica.

The two sides also exchanged views on the joint development of China-Costa Rica Smart Agriculture Demonstration Project and other topics. 

Ye Dongbai, director-General of the Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Science and Technology, attended the meeting.