On October 17, the 5th China–ASEAN International Symposium on Postharvest Biology and Storage and Logistics Technology opened at GXU. Under the theme “China–ASEAN Collaborative Scientific and Technological Innovation and Technology Connectivity”, the symposium is co-hosted by GXU, Zhejiang University and Kasetsart University of Thailand and organized by the College of Agriculture of GXU. Yu Wenjin, Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC GXU Committee and Vice President of GXU, attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech. Professor Andrew C. Allan, Fellow of the Royal Society Te Apārangi of New Zealand, and Professor Mondher Bouzayen, Fellow of the Academia Europaea, were invited to give plenary lectures. More than 200 delegates from France, New Zealand, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan and other countries, as well as from over 40 Chinese universities, research institutes and enterprises, attended the symposium.

Yu Wenjin welcomed the participating experts. He pointed out that the postharvest storage and logistics of agricultural products link production with consumption and constitute a key link in extending the agricultural industrial chain and improving agricultural efficiency. China and ASEAN are connected by mountains and rivers and abound in tropical and subtropical fruit and vegetable resources, and the two sides share many common issues in postharvest preservation and cold-chain logistics. As the building of Version 3.0 of the China–ASEAN Free Trade Area continues to advance, agricultural cooperation between the two sides has moved from trade in agricultural products to a new stage of joint scientific and technological research, two-way mobility of talent and shared technology demonstration. The symposium builds a multilateral academic exchange platform and is a practical action to put into practice the vision of a China–ASEAN community with a shared future and to advance regional agricultural collaborative innovation. He expressed the hope that the symposium will be taken as an opportunity to deepen cooperation with universities, research institutions and enterprises at home and abroad, focus on original innovation and jointly tackle key scientific issues in the postharvest handling of fruits and vegetables; to promote technology integration and advance the alignment and implementation of cross-border storage and transportation technology standards; and to broaden channels for talent exchange and build a regional network of young agricultural scientists, so as to jointly help improve the quality and efficiency of regional agriculture.

On October 17, a full day of high-level academic presentations was held, at which Chinese and foreign experts shared their latest research findings on the regulation of fruit ripening, genetic editing for improved fruit traits, the mechanisms of postharvest diseases and preservation technologies for tropical fruits and vegetables. The presentations balanced basic theoretical research with the practical needs of industry, covering the entire chain from basic laboratory research to field application in production. On October 18, the symposium will continue with academic presentations, present awards for outstanding posters, and organize delegates on field visits to planting bases and digital postharvest processing plants.

Focusing on common challenges facing the regional industry, the symposium has injected new momentum into deepening China–ASEAN collaborative innovation in agricultural science and technology and into reducing losses and improving efficiency in the horticultural industry.