The successful conclusion of the Southeast Asian Agricultural Science and Technology Business Delegation Weifang Station marked a significant step in promoting international cooperation between China and Malaysia in modern agriculture, aligning with General Secretary Xi Jinping's vision for a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future and the "Belt and Road" initiative. From September 25th to 28th, a collaborative effort by TusStreet, TusStar Malaysia, and the Malaysian Digital Economy Development Corporation (MDEC) led to the organization of this delegation, with TusStreet Pinggu Future Industry Innovation Center and TusStar Weifang co-hosting the event.
The primary purpose was to facilitate knowledge exchange and foster partnerships between Malaysian and Chinese AgTech companies. This immersive experience included tours of leading AgTech firms, participation in industry conferences, and networking opportunities.
During their journey through Beijing and Shandong, the Business Delegation delved into the business environment and policies specific to the agricultural sector in these regions. They sought to uncover promising business prospects through visits to exemplary enterprises, exchanging insights, and forging connections with local resources for agricultural technology collaboration. The agenda also featured engaging sessions on agricultural modernization, leveraging the innovative models from Southeast Asia's agricultural sector. These sessions encompassed business matchmaking and agricultural technology seminars, drawing inspiration from advanced modern agricultural practices. The overarching goal was to unearth potential avenues for agricultural cooperation and the development strategies to support them.
1. OBJECTIVE & PURPOSE:
The primary objective of this delegation trip was to foster collaboration and knowledge exchange between the Malaysian and Chinese AgriTech industries. Specific goals included:
Gaining insights into China's advanced AgTech solutions, practices, and innovations.
Exploring potential business opportunities for Malaysian AgTech companies in the Chinese market.
Identifying potential areas of collaboration, joint ventures, and technology transfer agreements and conducting business matching sessions.
Strengthening the collaboration between TusStar, MDEC, and the Malaysian AgTech sector.
Preliminary discussions were held with each participating company, and follow-up meetings are scheduled for further negotiations.
2. ORGANIZATIONAL UNIT:
Organizers: Agriculture Zhongguancun Management Committee, Tus Street, TusStar (Malaysia)
Co-organizer: Tus Green Valley, TusStar (Weifang)
Supporting Partner: Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC)
3. DELEGATION MEMBERS:
Saiful Bahari Wahid, Program Lead, Digital Agriculture and Drone Technology Ecosystem of MDEC
Nadiah Binti Fackeer Mohamad, Senior Project Manager, Digital Agriculture and Drone Technology Ecosystem of MDEC
Chua Cheng Haur, REDtone IoT
Chong Siew Teck, MyBeeCop
Chuah Teong Kah, Urban Farm Tech
Muhamad Izat Fahmi, Singularity Aerotech Asia
Shiny Janice Joseph, Senior Manager of Business Incubator, TusStar Malaysia
Chong Kez Chee, Corporate Service Executive, TusStar Malaysia
4. LEADING AGTECH COMPANIES INTRODUCTION：
The delegation had the opportunity to visit several renowned agriculture technology companies in China. These visits allowed us to gain valuable insights into cutting-edge technologies and best practices. The companies visited included:
WEIFANG, SHANDONG
1. Shouguang Vegetable Town
Shouguang Vegetable Town (Danhe Facility Vegetable Standardized Production Demonstration Park) is funded, constructed, and managed by Shandong Caijin Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd., is positioned for development in the areas of agricultural tourism, tourism, and culture. It has currently formed an overall planning framework that focuses on modern and efficient agricultural demonstration bases and circular economy industrial parks, featuring tourism, sightseeing, leisure, entertainment, fruit and vegetable picking, popular science, and experiences. This project was recognized as a major project in Shandong Province in 2020, serves as a science popularization education base in Shandong Province, and is a national vegetable quality standard center experimental demonstration base. It has hosted various events, including the 2019 Shouguang Vegetable Summit and the launch ceremony of the 'Shouguang Vegetable Smart Management Service Platform.
â–²The delegation visited China (Shouguang) Vegetable Town
2. Shouguang Hangrui Agriculture Technology Co., Ltd.
Shouguang Hangrui Agriculture Technology Co., Ltd. has been dedicated to the research and development of greenhouse vegetables since 1998. With the support of renowned experts and various levels of government departments, it has now become one of the leading companies in the greenhouse vegetable seed industry, with a significant presence in terms of product quality and market share nationwide. The company specializes in greenhouse vegetable seed breeding, seedling cultivation, and vegetable base construction. It also collaborates with well-known foreign vegetable seed companies and has introduced a large number of excellent vegetable varieties.
â–²The delegation visited Shouguang Hangrui Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd.
3. Weifang Dongli Pastoral Complex
In 2018, it was the first provincial-level pastoral complex in Shandong Province, covering a core area of 5,000 mu and a radiation area of 17,000 mu, with a total investment of approximately 1.1 billion yuan. Based on the "new six industries" of tomato planting, deep processing, and warehousing logistics, Dongli Pastoral Complex will create six demonstration areas, including modern agriculture, life services, leisure tourism, health care, and education. The core area of the project combines the red genes of Qianquezhuang Village with the organic transformation of Daxuhe River, integrating red culture with modern agriculture, patriotism education with ecological tourism, and focusing on building "six zones, two belts, and one center."
â–²The delegation visited Dongli Pastoral Complex
4. Zhonghui Gaoxin Technology (Shandong) Co., Ltd.
This company is a national high-tech enterprise in smart agriculture, integrating planning and design, technical research and development, production services, implementation, and operation management. The company focuses on the asparagus industry and pioneered the combination of facility agriculture with soil and substrate in asparagus planting production in China. It provides comprehensive services throughout the entire industry chain, including variety breeding, green control, intelligent water and fertilizer management, smart robots, and the integration of primary, secondary, and tertiary industries. The company advocates a "green, healthy, and nutritious" consumption concept and promotes the transformation and upgrading of the traditional asparagus industry through standardized planting, large-scale production, digital management, and brand operation, creating a high-end digital asparagus industry.
â–²The delegation visited Zhonghui Gaoxin Technology (Shandong) Co., Ltd.
â–² Dinner with government representative: Mr. Wang Yuzhi, High-tech Zone Investment Cooperation Bureau (Weifang, Shandong, China) and Chinese AgTech expert.
5. Shandong Delisi Food Co., Ltd.
Delisi Group was founded in 1986 and currently has over 6,500 employees, with total assets of 9.6 billion yuan. The company has received over 800 honors and titles, including being designated as one of the first national key leading enterprises in agricultural industrialization, one of the top ten meat companies in China, and one of the top 100 enterprises in the Chinese food industry. Delisi has always focused on the research and production of national table delicacies. As early as 1989, Delisi developed a series of ready-to-eat products such as Delisi Round Ham and Spicy Sausage. Since 2015, the company has been involved in the pre-made meal industry, experiencing explosive growth since 2020, with an annual growth rate of over 50%. The company has a complete industrial chain system and an extensive sales network. Currently, it has established more than 100 urban display service centers in major cities across the country, laying a solid foundation for achieving the goal of "a hundred cities, ten thousand stores, a hundred enterprises, a hundred-year brand."
â–²The delegation visited Shandong Delisi Food Co., Ltd.
6. Shandong Huifa Food Co., Ltd.
Shandong Huifa Food Co., Ltd. was established in February 2005 and was listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange on June 13, 2017. It successfully landed on the A-share main board and is a comprehensive food enterprise specializing in the research and development, production, sales of pre-made dishes, and providing supply chain services for healthy ingredients. The company covers an area of over 400,000 square meters, with five production bases. It has won numerous honors, including "National Safety Production Standardization Level 1 Enterprise," "High-tech Enterprise," and "Shandong Provincial Agricultural Industrialization Key Leading Enterprise." The company has also established research institutions such as an academician workstation, a postdoctoral workstation, Shandong Provincial Enterprise Technology Center, Shandong Provincial Meat Product Quality Control Engineering Technology Research Center, and a national and local joint engineering research center for marine functional frozen conditioning food.
â–²The delegation visited Shandong Huifa Food Co., Ltd.
â–²Dinner & discussions with TusStar Weifang team and the Director of Operations of Family Packaging Technology Ltd.
BEIJING
1. The Beijing Tongzhou International Seed Industry and Technology Park
The Beijing Tongzhou International Seed Industry and Technology Park is located in the southern part of Beijing's urban sub-center in Jia Wu Township. It was established in 2011 under the auspices of the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Beijing Municipal Government. It is part of the National Modern Agricultural Science and Technology City system and has been recognized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Science and Technology as a national agricultural science and technology park, a national agricultural information demonstration base, a collaborative innovation base for agricultural science and technology in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, and a national modern agricultural industrial park. It is the only agricultural science and technology park included in the Zhongguancun National Independent Innovation Demonstration Zone.
2. Embassy of Malaysia in China
Subsequently, the delegation visited the Malaysian Embassy in China and conducted extensive discussions with the Agricultural Counselor Ms. Ting Ping Ping and the Second Secretary of the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), Ms. Zhang Chuchen on the development needs of Malaysian agricultural enterprises, technical cooperation, and investment introduction.
â–²The Malaysian delegation visited the Malaysian Embassy in China
3. Beijing Huadu Yukou Poultry Co., Ltd.
Beijing Hua Du Yukou Poultry Co., Ltd. is a subsidiary of COFCO Group and is a world-class poultry breeding enterprise specializing in egg/meat chicken variety breeding, seed chicken breeding, chick promotion, and technical services. It is the largest egg chicken seed producer in the world and a national key leading agricultural enterprise. The industry is based in Beijing and radiates nationwide, with the world's largest scale of breeding chickens and a national market share of 50%. In the past three years, it has achieved cumulative sales revenue of 4.19 billion RMB and a net profit of 330 million RMB, with an investment of 30.74 million RMB in information construction.
â–² The Malaysian delegation visited Beijing Huadu Yukou Poultry Industry Co., Ltd.
4. Beijing Pinggu Zhongguancun Agricultural Science and Technology Park Innovation Workshop
The Innovation Workshop is located in the core area of the Pinggu District Yukuotown Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Demonstration Zone. It currently hosts key research institutions and agricultural leading enterprises such as the Jingwa Center, China Wisdom Research Institute, COFCO Corporation, National Agricultural Research Institute, and Daweijia. The core area of the Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Demonstration Zone covers an area of 707,400 square meters and was recognized by the Ministry of Science and Technology as the eighth batch of "National Agricultural Science and Technology Park" in 2018. In 2020, it received approval from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Finance to establish the "National Modern Agriculture (Livestock and Poultry Seed Industry) Industrial Park."
At present, there are 20 high-tech enterprises related to agriculture, six provincial and above-level agricultural industrialization leading enterprises, and 267 agricultural patents. Eleven research and development centers have been established, including the Beijing Food Safety Testing Equipment Engineering Technology Research Center and the Yukuo poultry and Layer Chicken Research Institute, and 21 provincial and ministerial level awards have been received.
â–² The Malaysian delegation visited Beijing Pinggu Zhongguancun Agricultural Science and Technology Park and Shounong Exhibition Hall
5. Beijing Jingwa Agriculture Science & Technology Innovation Center - Su Tuo Technology
The Beijing Jingwa Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Center is the implementation of the innovative ‘Golden Triangle’ cooperation model. Jingwa Center is a private non-business organisation jointly initiated by China Agricultural University, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing Capital Agribusiness Group, New Hope Group, and Jingdong Group.
Su Tuo Technology, founded by a European doctoral team, landed in Beijing's Pinggu Agricultural Zhongguancun in 2021. It is committed to innovative plant and microbial protein structures and is a supplier of whole artificial meat and alternative protein ingredients. It has established the largest research and development platform in the industry, received support from postdoctoral research workstations, and the "Returning Overseas Talents Entrepreneurship Support Program.
â–² The Malaysian delegation visited Sutuo Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd
The company's main business and core technology align with the national concept of "obtaining calories and protein from plants and animal microorganisms" and one of the five major areas accepted by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange's "Specialized Technology Companies" in 2023 (artificial meat and sustainable protein technology production new ingredients). Su Tuo Technology will leverage China's supply chain advantages to break the monopoly of high-quality food ingredients in Europe and the United States and become an international agricultural Zhongguancun innovation enterprise in the alternative protein field.
6. TusHoldings Headquarters and Tsinghua Science Park
TusHoldings Co., Ltd. (referred to as TusHoldings), was established in July 2000, with its predecessor being the Tsinghua Science Park Development Center, founded in August 1994. TusHoldings is a technology investment holding group focused on technology services established in collaboration with Tsinghua University. It is responsible for the development, construction, and operation management of Tsinghua Science Park and is one of the first national modern service industry demonstration units. The company holds (participates in) shares of over 800 listed and non-listed companies, including Tus Pharma, Tus Environmental, Century Internet, Titan Intelligence, Beijing Capital Clean Energy, AVIC Xinhai, Tuwei Technology, Venustech, and Zhongwen Online, with total managed assets of nearly RMB 200 billion.
â–² Exchange and Matchmaking Meeting of Southeast Asian Business Delegation Beijing Station.
5. KEY OUTCOMES:
The delegation trip yielded several key outcomes:
1. Enhanced Knowledge Exchange:
Delegates gained valuable insights into China's advanced AgTech sector, which will contribute to the growth of Malaysia's AgTech industry.
2. Promising Partnerships:
Preliminary discussions and business matching sessions identified potential partnerships and collaborations between Malaysian and Chinese companies, with a focus on technology transfer and joint ventures.
3. Strengthened Government-Industry Collaboration:
The collaboration between TusStar Malaysia, MDEC, and the participating companies demonstrates the commitment of the Malaysian government in fostering innovation and economic growth.
4. Increased Visibility:
The delegation trip increased the visibility of Malaysian AgTech companies in the international arena, opening doors to new markets and investment opportunities.
6. CONCLUSION :
China, as an agricultural powerhouse, holds a significant and influential position in its economic development. Agriculture plays a crucial role, with the total cultivated area of crops fluctuating around 2.5 billion acres annually. In the 20th National Congress Report, it was emphasized to comprehensively promote rural revitalization, accelerate the construction of an agricultural powerhouse, expedite the implementation of an innovation-driven development strategy, and strive for high-level technological self-reliance and self-strengthening.
The Beijing Municipal Government Work Report proposed to implement the action plan for Agricultural Zhongguancun Construction, accelerate the development of the Jingwa Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Center, and vigorously implement the revitalization of the seed industry. The goal stated at the Beijing Rural Work Conference is to accelerate the construction of Agricultural Zhongguancun and create a national-level highland for agricultural science and technology innovation. These specific measures align with the objective of expediting the construction of an agricultural powerhouse.
The delegation trip to China was a significant step in advancing Malaysia's AgTech industry. We are confident that the knowledge gained and the relationships formed during this trip will contribute to the growth of the sector and further strengthen ties between Malaysia and China. We express our gratitude to MDEC, the participating companies, and our Chinese hosts for their support and hospitality.
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