In her article published by Nova Makedonija on 3 January, H.E. Mme. Ambassador Jiang Xiaoyan elaborates on how China's technological development empowers agriculture and envisions future cooperation opportunities with North Macedonia. The full text is as follows:

Grapevines are drawing rich nutrients from Macedonian fertile soil for a sweeter new year, while winter wheat has been sown across China's vast fields. Both China and North Macedonia have rich agricultural traditions and share the same aspiration for good harvests.

Development of agriculture in China faces similar challenges such as mountainous terrain, limited arable land, climate change, and labor shifts. China has prioritized agricultural and rural development, adopted tailored and results-oriented approaches, and made solid progress in all-round rural revitalization. These efforts have enabled the Chinese people to hold the rice bowl in their own hands and enjoy better lives. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China's overall grain production capacity reached a new level. In 2024, grain output exceeded 700 million tons for the first time. This has not only secured China's food supply, but also contributed significantly to stabilizing the global market.

China has also been improving the national storage mechanisms and putting in place a security system for farmers' income. In China, the responsibility for ensuring the supply of staple grains has been consolidated. In 2017, China launched the "vegetable basket" responsibility system in 36 cities. Every two years, mayors of these cities are graded for their performances in dimensions including agricultural productivity and sustainability, the maturity of the market for agricultural produce, food quality and safety, and satisfaction of city residents.

In addition, stable yields are no longer a natural endowment subject to climate conditions. These are largely achieved through improvement in irrigation and soil quality. In the past five years, over 66.67 million hectares of high-standard farmland have been constructed. Supplies of cotton, oil, sugar, meat, eggs, milk, fruits, vegetables, and aquatic products remain ample, enriching people's diets.

Agriculture in North Macedonia features scattered family farms. China is also exploring ways to better integrate smallholders with modern agriculture. Measures mainly include raising the level of family farm intensification; encouraging agricultural smallholders to carry out production through joint household operation and collective farming; pushing forward the "10,000 Enterprises Revitalizing 10,000 Villages" Initiative; encouraging large e-commerce platform, logistics, and trading entities to develop rural e-commerce service outlets; employing biotechnology in joint breeding and livestock genetic improvement; and developing smart, small-size machinery such as slope-capable tillers, precision drones; applying advanced agricultural machinery, such as high-horsepower tractors, cotton baling machines, large-throughput grain combine harvesters, and precision planting machines. By the end of 2024, the contribution rate of S&T progress in agriculture reached 63.2% in China, the coverage of improved crop varieties exceeded 96%, and the overall mechanization rate of crop cultivation and harvesting surpassed 75%.

The recommendations for the 15th Five-Year Plan outline a clear blueprint for China's economic and social development in the next five years, prioritizing the "three rural issues" namely agriculture, rural areas, and farmers, with food security, technological empowerment, and green transformation at the core to accelerate agricultural and rural modernization.

Looking ahead, China remains open to importing more quality Macedonian farm produce and stands ready to share experience and deepen cooperation in agricultural technology and operations with North Macedonia, with a view to accelerating agricultural modernization together.