BEIJING — Agricultural official called for closer agricultural cooperation among China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK) on Nov 10 in Beijing.

China will work to double its agricultural trade with Japan and ROK to over $30 billion in the next 10 years, said Chinese minister of agriculture and rural affairs Han Changfu at the Third Trilateral Agriculture Ministers’ Meeting.

Han said the three countries are strongly complementary in agricultural technologies, industries and markets, adding they should deepen cooperation in agriculture and rural development, agricultural technologies, and agricultural trade.

The three countries have made in-depth exchanges and cooperation in agricultural policies and animal disease control since the establishment of the trilateral agricultural cooperation mechanism, Han said.

China’s agricultural trade with Japan and ROK has grown steadily, hitting $16.78 billion in 2017, accounting for 8.3 percent of the country’s total trade in agricultural products, Han added.

At the meeting, the three countries vowed to share experience in rural industrial integration, safety control of agricultural products, innovation of agricultural technologies, to guarantee food security in the region, and to push forward the development of resource-saving and environment-friendly agriculture.

Agricultural ministers from the three sides also issued a joint communique and a memorandum on trilateral agricultural cooperation.