On Oct. 17th, 2018, co-sponsored by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) and CAB International (CABI), and co-organized by IPP-CAAS, the MARA-CABI Joint Lab and CABI East Asia, ‘The Asia-Pacific Member Countries Regional Consultation and the 10th Anniversary meeting of the MARA-CABI Joint Lab’ was successfully held in Beijing. Prof. TANG Huajun, President of CAAS, Member of the Leading Party Group of MARA and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Dr. TANG Shengyao, Deputy Director General of the Department of International Cooperation of MARA, Prof. WU Kongming, vice President of CAAS and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and Mr. Roger Horton, Chair of CABI Board attended the meeting. DG ZHOU Xueping from IPP-CAAS also attended the opening ceremony and signed a multi-party MoU with the Ministry of National Food Security and Research of Pakistan and CABI. Dr. TANG Shengyao chaired the opening ceremony of the event. Opening addresses were delivered by Prof. TANG Huajun and Mr. Roger Horton. In his opening speech, Prof. Tang reviewed the fruitful achievements of cooperation between China and CABI over more than 30 years, and emphasized that China is willing to continue working with CABI and its Asia-Pacific member countries to jointly address the major challenges in regional and global agricultural development through multi-lateral cooperation. Prof. WU Kongming gave a keynote presentation on "Strengthening partnership between China and CABI under the Belt and Road Initiative", and outlined opportunities for the bilateral or multi-lateral cooperation in the future. Dr. Trevor Nicholls, CEO of CABI, updated the progress made towards CABI’s Medium Term Strategy 2017-2019. A short commemorative video on 10 years’ development of the Joint Lab was also played during the event, showcasing the significant achievements in the areas of international cooperation project development, scientific research & innovation team building, scientific exchange & technical training, and South-South cooperation.

　　On behalf of IPP-CAAS, Prof. ZHOU Xueping signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Agricultural Research and Development for the Belt and Road with the Ministry of National Food Security and Research of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and CABI Pakistan Center. The three parties willcooperate in joint research, technology transfer and capacity building. The parties aim to facilitate the development of agricultural sciences and technology in Pakistan and strengthening exchange and cooperation in the field of plant protection within the Belt and Road (B&R) initiative sponsored by China, on the basis of equality and mutual benefits. To reach the goal, the parties are planning to jointly apply for cooperative projects and establish a new Joint Laboratory for B&R Plant Protection in Pakistan if funds are available. Since its establishment in 2008, the Joint Laboratory has successfully implemented 25 research and development projects with a total funding of over 20 million USD in the field of biological control and integrated pest management (IPM) based on the comprehensive Chinese agricultural research innovation and technology extension system, as well as international resources of CABI's global reach and its member countries. The Joint Laboratory has established extensive partnerships with over 70 institutions in China and other countries. As a highlight, the Plantwise project has trained 58 plant doctor trainers and 562 plant doctors in Beijing, Sichuan and Xing'an of Guangxi, and established 93 plant clinics directly serving more than 73,000 farmers. As required by the project, the Joint Lab has established scientific and technological innovation teams such as technical transfer, invasive biology, pest risk analysis, pest monitoring and forecasting, biological control and IPM. Totally 3 post-doctoral fellows, 7 PhD students and 11 master students were co-supervised and trained at the Joint Lab. The Joint Lab has co-organized more than 10 international academic conferences or workshops, which were attended by over 2,300 delegates from more than 50 countries. The Joint Lab has organized more than 50 South-South Cooperation technical training courses and trained over 1,200 trainees. The Joint Lab has also published 74 publications, including 18 SCI articles with IF > 2 and 3 monographs. The achievements of the Joint Lab have been highly recognized and appraised by relevant Departments of the Chinese government. The Joint Lab Co-Director Dr. Ulrich Kuhlmann received the “Friendship Award” from the Chinese government in 2012 and the "International Friends Award" from CAAS during the 60th anniversary of the establishment of CAAS in 2017. Co-Director ZHOU Xueping won the Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation Prize in 2017 and was elected the Fellow of the American Phytopathology Society in 2018. A total of more than 100 delegates from MARA, CAAS, IPP-CAAS, CABI and its Asia Pacific member countries, prospective member countries, and government and research institutions in 14 countries along the Belt and Road as well as international organizations, private sectors and donor organizations, attended the event.