On June 22, the Fifth Goji Industry Expo was held both online and offline in Zhongning County, Ningxia. Under the theme of “With the natural endowments of goji, we enjoy better health together”, the expo witnessed domestic and international participation and showcased new goji varieties, planting technologies, processing techniques, products and research results. Dong Ling, Vice Chairperson of the Standing Committee of Ningxia People’s Congress, announced the opening of the expo. Liu Kewei, Vice Governor of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, and Li Chunliang, Deputy Administrator of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, addressed the expo. Representatives of local governments and organizations of the ROK, Malaysia and Japan attended the expo online and delivered speeches via video link. Bai Yuzhen, Director-General of Ningxia Foreign Affairs Office (NXFAO), attended the opening ceremony.

Inaugurated in 2018, the expo welcomed international participation for the first time. To boost the expo’s international influence, NXFAO fully leveraged its resources to invite representatives of foreign local governments and organizations with significant development potentials and complementary advantages in goji industry and comprehensive healthcare. It also hosted the Ningxia-Chungcheongnam-do Youth Exchange Activity with the Chungcheongnam-do Provincial Government of the ROK, introducing the expo to youth of Chungcheongnam-do. NXFAO arranged its translators to translate and review key publicity materials of the expo and work as the English host during the opening ceremony, which were well received by the audience both online and offline.

The successful conclusion of the expo with international participation marks NXFAO’s efforts to implement the guiding principles of the 13th Ningxia Congress of the CPC, help the goji industry to go global, shore up Ningxia’s weakness in opening up, and contribute to the building of the Pilot Zone for Ecological Conservation and High-Quality Development in the Yellow River Basin. It will continue to tap the complementary potentials of Ningxia and foreign localities in the goji industry, and advance cooperation and exchanges in industrial advantages, information sharing and value added enhancement with major foreign goji producing areas such as Cheongyang-gun of Chungcheongnam-do, so as to inject more impetus into the higher-level opening up and higher-quality development of Ningxia.