Published on: 2026-10-30
Source: People’s Republic of China — Translation
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Xi’an, October 28 /Xinhua/ — Agricultural cooperation between China and Central Asian countries, historically linked with the Great Silk Road, is gaining new momentum.
More than two thousand years ago, during the Western Han dynasty, the Chinese diplomat Zhang Qian journeyed to the Western Regions, as a result of which flax, pomegranate, and grape came to China along the Great Silk Road, and Chinese technologies of well construction, metallurgy, and sericulture reached Central Asia. Currently, Shaanxi province leverages the opportunities of the Yanling demonstration zone to develop agricultural cooperation with Central Asian countries.
On October 25, the 33rd China (Yanling) High-Tech Achievements Fair in Agriculture kicked off in the Yanling Demonstration Zone for High and New Agricultural Technologies, located on the outskirts of the city of Xiangyang, Shaanxi Province, Northwest China.
At the exhibition, attention was drawn to a photograph depicting Professor Zhang Dong of the Northwest University of Agriculture and Forestry exchanging experiences with gardeners from Kyrgyzstan on cultivating apple trees, whose fruits are very popular among the local residents. Mao Jiangping, one of the key members of Zhang Dong’s team and a professor at the aforementioned university, noted that thanks to the technology for high-quality and simplified cultivation of apple trees on dwarf rootstocks developed by Zhang Dong himself, these apple trees differ significantly from their “relatives,” which previously began to bear fruit only 6-7 years after planting. These same apple trees begin to bear fruit as early as the second year after planting, and by the fourth year enter a period of high productivity, with a yield from one mu (approximately 0.067 hectares) reaching over 3,500 kg.
Previously, Kyrgyzstan preferred to import apple seedlings from Europe, where the price of one seedling was more than 100 yuan. Now local gardeners are offered imported Chinese top-grade seedlings at a price of just over 50 yuan each, and ordinary seedlings slightly more than 30 yuan each. After two shipments, during which more than 10 thousand seedlings were sent, the project is moving towards local seedling cultivation: this direction is now handled by a specialized farm with support from the university, Mao Jiangping reported. He quoted a well-known Chinese proverb: “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.”
In July 2024, a branch of the China-Tajikistan Demonstration Park of Digital Agricultural Technologies and Equipment was opened in the Tajik city of Khujand. According to the park’s chief expert Yan Fengxin, the branch was established by Tajik universities, government bodies, and seven agricultural enterprises in cooperation with six Chinese organizations. It is focused on the common scientific and technological tasks of modern Tajikistan agriculture. With the assistance of Yan Fengxin, a Chinese company from Shandong province began production and sale of agricultural electric tricycles in Khujand, and welding technology was improved taking into account local roads. The company’s partner placed a fruit and vegetable processing line in Khujand in June last year, including drying carrots and onions, and cutting potatoes. The products are sold on local and European markets.
In southern Kazakhstan, drought and soil salinization due to irrational irrigation remain serious problems. In 2024, the Northwest University of Agriculture and Forestry established the China-Kazakhstan Demonstration Park of Saline Land Reclamation Technologies and Efficient Water Use in Agriculture. Chinese and Kazakhstani teachers and students conduct joint field experiments: on plastic mulching, comparison of ameliorants, corn varieties and planting density, optimization of intercropping and irrigation methods.
Research results showed that ameliorants and optimal density reduce salinization, while mulching combined with timely late sowing of salt-tolerant varieties increases yield. The technologies and products have already been applied to more than 2,000 hectares of arable land. Practice confirms their effectiveness: corn yields increased by an average of 20 percent, and water savings exceeded 30 percent. Over 200 specialists have been trained for local agricultural organizations and farms. With the participation of the Kazakh National Agrarian Research University and the Tajik Technical University, 10 master’s and postgraduate students from China and Kazakhstan completed their training.
As noted, since 2019, Yanlin has conducted more than 100 professional training courses as a demonstration base of the SCO, with over 3,200 agricultural officials and specialists from SCO countries and Belt and Road regions participating. More than 60,000 people have undergone online training.
“The parties hope to make the most effective use of the SCO Agricultural Exhibition platform to achieve practical results: establish the exchange of genetic resources, adapt agricultural machinery to local conditions, and simplify cross-border trade in agricultural products. The SCO Secretariat will continue to provide comprehensive support to the demonstration site in Yanlin,” noted SCO Deputy Secretary-General T. R. Midhun. -0-
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