Remarks as Prepared for Secretary Tom Vilsack at the Cooperation on Advancing Mutual Goals in Food & Agriculture Session of the U.S.-China Joint Committee on Commerce and Trade Meeting in Chicago
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
I would like to thank the U.S.-China Business Council, Mead Johnson Nutrition, the Grocery Manufacturers Association, and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade for allowing me to speak on such an important theme today. I also want to applaud you for focusing attention on the extensive existing cooperation between the United States and China on agriculture and food.
The discussions we have here today can only serve to advance the already longstanding partnership between the United States and China. Our history of collaboration in agriculture dates back to the 1970s and has, over the years, grown richer, broader, and deeper with tremendous benefits for both of our countries. We need to build on this rich history of collaboration and refocus our efforts to create an enabling environment to improve food security in our own countries and throughout the world. As world leaders in agriculture, it is our obligation to do so.
The United States and China were both built by farmers, and we both have deep agricultural heritages that continue to thrive today. We have much that we can learn from each other. Clearly, to overcome agricultural challenges, we must use every resource available, including the expertise of our industries.
Let me first talk about the fruits that have grown out of this partnership. China is the United States largest export market with $25.9 billion of exports in FY14, up 11 percent from the previous year and doubling in the past five. China is also the largest international market for U.S. food and agricultural products, accounting for 20 percent of all U.S. farm exports. Similarly, Chinese agricultural exports to the United States have increased exponentially, growing over 50 percent in the last 5 years.
In our cooperative relationship, our two countries have hosted literally thousands of scientific and technical exchanges, hosted countless delegations, and co-authored numerous published papers, all of which have helped enhance agriculture for growers and consumers around the world.
An example of the cooperation between our two countries is the proposal to build a 12 acre Chinese-style garden at the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, DC. This addition to the National Arboretum will host cultural and educational activities and create a living bridge between our two countries.
I am pleased that the fundraising stage for this project, led by the National China Garden Foundation, has begun in earnest. I am hopeful that construction will begin in the near future.
The China Garden serves as a symbol of our commitment to the continued friendship between the United States and China.
Looking at the long-term picture, I expect that the interdependence of the United States and China will only increase. Our two countries continue to grow more prosperous and demand for high quality agricultural and food products continues to rise. What the United States grows affects what is eaten in China. What China chooses to grow affects the food available in the United States.
This is an important point to keep in mind as my colleagues and I meet with our Chinese counterparts here in Chicago for the JCCT. One result of U.S.-China cooperation is that we have developed forums such as the JCCT where we can openly and frankly discuss our trade issues. While this has not resolved every problem, it has increased the confidence and understanding each country has in the other's regulatory systems.
One reason why it is so important for us to meet and regularly discuss trade issues is that unresolved trade issues can have a corrosive effect on our bilateral relationship. The importance of a healthy bilateral relationship demands that our respective trade issues be addressed.
However, we cannot let our trade issues distract us from the larger long-term picture.
In my meetings with my Chinese counterparts at the JCCT, my message is a simple one: I understand China's desire to control its own destiny specifically with regard to food security.
But I am concerned that China's policies are a step back from the progress that they have made with three decades worth of reforms. Policies that restrict market access, stifle innovation and limit much-needed investment in research and development prevent the U.S. and China from working together to overcome many of the global challenges we face.
For China to be truly secure in its long-term food supply, it needs to build trust with suppliers and buyers through transparency, predictability, and the development of long-term relationships.
China is in its own right a great power. Yet, with the status of a great power comes the responsibility to strengthen and support international rules and norms. Great powers enact polices that promote trade and innovation. Great powers look after the food security needs of not just their current citizens but also their future citizens.
I know that the leadership of our two countries recognize this. When President Obama traveled to China last month and met with President Xi (pronounced: "She"), they discussed the importance of these issues and committed to strengthen our engagement on promoting agricultural innovation and food security.
The United States and China already engage bilaterally across several different agricultural working groups. In these working groups, U.S. and Chinese officials have resolved trade issues, shared best practices and collaborated on research.
One area where I think we can further our collaboration is in the creation of the right institutional framework to encourage an enabling environment for agricultural innovation. Both the United States and China have plenty of brilliant thinkers who should come together and work on this issue.
The question is how to support them; how to connect universities and farmers so that scientific advances are applicable to what is grown. It is about creating government policies that allow research to be commercialized. It is about working together to create regulatory systems that spur new innovation by asking how things could be improved rather than using regulatory systems in a way that discourages innovation and demands adherence to obsolete rules.
This conversation is larger than USDA or the Ministry of Agriculture. That is why for this JCCT I have proposed that the United States and China establish a high-level strategic dialogue on agricultural innovation. This strategic dialogue would expand the conversation and bring the United States and Chinese governments together to further discuss how we can collaborate to promote agricultural innovation.
We are committed to working with China to overcome global food security challenges. The U.S. wants to be a partner with China. We are a reliable supplier of food, and a potential investor, willing to share technical expertise and collaborate in agricultural research. Our market is also open to Chinese products and investment. I believe that U.S. and Chinese policies will determine to a great extent what is grown in the future (and potentially also how). As partners, we need to move in a similar direction, which is why I'm glad that we are all here today.
As we press forward on these issues, everyone in this room will continue to play a vital role. The business community has been busy establishing the public and private connections that have accompanied our increased bilateral trade.
For years, U.S. and Chinese industries have been sharing their technical expertise on topics such as food safety, loss and waste prevention, pesticide management, and on numerous other topics. Their collaboration has benefited all of us here.
I especially applaud the hard work of the U.S.-China Agriculture and Food Partnership which complements the JCCT and the Strategic and Economic Dialogue by giving the private sector a platform and a voice in these discussions.
I hope that today we will all learn additional ideas of how government and business can work together to continue to tackle global food security challenges.