The Hunan RCEP Food Security Cooperation and Exchange Conference and the Hunan (Huaihua) Rice Noodles Festival were held in Huaihua on October 26, 2023. At the opening ceremony, the Huaihua Municipal People's Government signed a memorandum of cooperation on planning and investment with Champasak Province of Laos. Both sides agreed to enhance cooperation in terms of expanding agricultural investment, strengthening poverty reduction exchanges, and promoting agricultural trade. There were 18 projects with a total investment of about 5.37 billion yuan inked on site.

The event had several aims: to give full play to the advantages of the Huaihua International Land Port in connecting with ASEAN countries; to further deepen partnership between China and Laos in grain industry; to advance resource sharing, technological exchange, and market development; and, to enhance the grain production capacity of both countries. Both sides would also jointly explore a new model for Hunan "rice noodles plus" industrial integration and development, further contributing to the development of the grain industry in Hunan.

The event lasted for four days. In addition to the opening ceremony, there was a rice noodle industrial development exchange conference, a Huaihua food-tasting event, a food bazaar, a China-Thailand International Boxing Championship, youth soccer matches, and other activities. The food bazaar was set up with four thematic venues, including exhibitions from more than 100 stores of internet-famous food brands, local specialties, and ASEAN food, offering a bountiful feast to visitors.

The conference and fair were organized by the Food and Strategic Reserves of Hunan Province and the Huaihua Municipal People's Government. Throughout the opening ceremony, the exchange conference, the promotion meeting, and the project signing, the event told the story of "A Single Seed Changes the World", presenting the history and achievements of Hunan's grain development, as well as the results and prospects of food security cooperation with the ASEAN countries.

Huaihua City has shown strong momentum in its opening up and development in recent years, driven largely by the robust impact of the Huaihua International Land Port. In the first nine months of this year, Huaihua's growth rates in GDP, fixed asset investment, per capita disposable income, and total import and export value topped the whole province. Its growth rates of local tax revenue and loan balance ranked second in the province. There were 348 international trains operating through the Land Port, an increase of 208% year on year, taking the lead in central China. Huaihua's total foreign trade with RCEP and ASEAN countries surged by 105.5% and 170.8% respectively.

This article is from the Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Yu Jiangjiang

Chinese source: hunan.gov.cn