Elena Tatomir, general director of the Directorate General for Agricultural Policy at the Romanian Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of the China-Romania Joint Laboratory for Cooperation in Agriculture in Bucharest, Romania, on June 25, 2024. The China-Romania Joint Laboratory for Cooperation in Agriculture was officially inaugurated on Tuesday at the University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine (UASVM) in Bucharest, aiming to enhance collaborative research in agricultural science and technological innovation. (Photo by Cristian Cristel/Xinhua)

The China-Romania Joint Laboratory for Cooperation in Agriculture was officially inaugurated on Tuesday at the University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine (UASVM) in Bucharest, aiming to enhance collaborative research in agricultural science and technological innovation.

This joint initiative was built by the Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture under the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and the UASVM, with support from the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, the Chinese Embassy in Romania and the Romanian Ministry of Agriculture.

Wu Kongming, president of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, hailed the laboratory's establishment as a significant milestone in China-Romania scientific cooperation, emphasizing its role in green agricultural development.

Elena Tatomir, general director of the Directorate General for Agricultural Policy at the Romanian Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development highlighted the importance of this collaboration for the future of Romanian agriculture, particularly in greenhouse vegetable cultivation.

Chinese Ambassador to Romania Han Chunlin said the laboratory is a crucial achievement under the "Belt and Road" Science and Technology Innovation Action Plan, fostering deeper scientific, technological, and cultural exchanges between the two nations.

Han added that the laboratory has significantly impacted Central and Eastern Europe, supporting cultural exchanges, technology promotion, and production capacity cooperation.

UASVM Rector Sorin Cimpeanu and its Vice-Rector Florin Stanica both underlined the laboratory's role in advancing facility agricultural technologies and energy-saving solutions.

Since 2019, the initiative of the joint laboratory has completed various projects, including a plant factory with artificial light, a double-layer energy-saving greenhouse, and an edible fungus factory.