Xinjiang Agricultural University opened a Central Asia Research Center (Jeminay Research Base) at the Jeminay Agricultural Pilot Zone for Opening-Up on Nov 8, a move officials said will advance localized research and build a higher-level platform for joint technology development, results transfer and talent exchange between China and Central Asia.

Backed by the China-Central Asia Poverty Reduction Cooperation Center and co-built with Xinjiang Agricultural University, the base will leverage the university's research strengths and Jeminay county's border location, experts said.

They added that the center aims to bridge the "last mile" from R&D to demonstration and industry matching, supporting higher productivity in farming and herding and bolstering regional cooperation.

Askar Uskembayev, head of science and technology support at the Department of Agricultural Science and Education of Kazakhstan's Ministry of Agriculture, said the new research center will be significant in strengthening sustainable agriculture and food security. He added that he looked forward to deeper scientific cooperation to cement bilateral engagement.

Saierhaiyisha Taken, administrative manager at Jeminay Lemmu Agricultural Technology Co, said the cooperation offered valuable opportunities for business collaboration and that the company hoped to work with partners to advance agricultural trade and technology cooperation.

The Jeminay pilot zone is among China's first batch — and the first in the northwest — of national-level agricultural opening-up pilot zones, serving as a key hub for engagement with Central Asia.

Drawing on Altay prefecture's gateway that connects to four neighboring countries, officials describe it as both a "golden corridor" linking Asia and Europe and a front line for securing agri-food supply chains and testing new cross-border models. On Nov 6, the zone shared its poverty reduction practices at a subforum of the China-Central Asia Cooperation Forum, drawing wide attention.

Reflecting growing economic ties, China's total trade with the five Central Asian countries rose 10.4 percent year-on-year to 286.42 billion yuan ($39.93 billion) in the first five months of this year, a record high for the period, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs.

China is also tapping agricultural cooperation: in the same period, it imported agricultural products worth 4.36 billion yuan from the five Central Asian countries, up 26.9 percent year-on-year. Imports of flax seed from Kazakhstan surged 202.1 percent, raisins from Uzbekistan grew 153.7 percent, and honey from Kyrgyzstan increased 10.9-fold, the GAC said.

According to Xinjiang Agricultural University, the new center will align with the poverty reduction center's four core functions — policy exchange, talent development, technology demonstration and trade promotion. Plans include forming interdisciplinary research teams, conducting studies on the pilot zone's high-quality development, building a case repository, and scaling up a replicable "Jeminay model".

It will also support Jeminay county's bid to become a China-Central Asia poverty reduction demonstration site, while creating training and exchange platforms for technical courses and academic seminars.

Looking ahead, the center will use technology cooperation as a bridge to expand the breadth and depth of China-Central Asia collaboration in farming and animal husbandry, moving from technology sharing to industrial co-benefits.

Xu Dan, deputy director of the Comprehensive Service Center of the Jeminay Border Economic Cooperation Zone, said the Central Asia Research Center illustrated how the pilot zone is using exchanges to spur cooperation and development.

Xu added that the Jeminay Agricultural Pilot Zone for Opening-Up would deepen cooperation with Central Asian countries in agriculture, create more jobs for border residents and deliver broader public benefits.

renqi@chinadaily.com.cn