Putting into practice the guiding principles of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important reply and accelerating the development of a first-class agriculture and forestry university with higher standards, more distinctive strengths and greater influence

FUZHOU, 20 October — Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University marked its 90th anniversary on 20 October with a high-quality development conference at Yueren Auditorium on its Cangshan campus in Fuzhou. Under the theme “Passing on the flame of learning through 90 years, writing a new chapter through dedicated service to agriculture, rural areas and farmers,” the conference sought to put into practice the guiding principles of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important reply of 20 September 2025 to all the university’s faculty and students, review 90 years of educational experience and rally support for the journey ahead. Faculty, students, staff, alumni at home and abroad, and people from across society witnessed the occasion online and in person.

On the eve of the anniversary, Zhao Long, secretary of the CPC Fujian Provincial Committee, made a special visit to the university on 19 October. On behalf of the provincial Party committee and government, he congratulated the university on its 90th anniversary and extended greetings to its faculty, students and staff. He called on the university to bear its entrusted mission in mind, turn gratitude into action, continue to raise its educational standards and core competitiveness, and strive to join the national Double First-Class Initiative.

Fujian Vice Governor Jiang Erxiong attended and addressed the conference. Other attendees included Tan Yunkun, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the Fujian Provincial People’s Congress; Yan Keshi, vice chairman of the Fujian Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC); Chen Dong, a member of the Standing Committee of the CPPCC National Committee; Zhu Kongjun, Party secretary of Wuhan University; and 20 members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, including Hu Wenping, president of Xiamen University and a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Wu Kongming, former president of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. Representatives of universities in China and abroad, research institutes, local governments, partner organisations and news media also attended. Chaired by the university’s Party secretary, Lai Hairong, the conference opened with the national anthem.

90 years of education: 350,000 graduates and 35 awards across China’s three major science and technology award categories

President Xie Suyuan delivered a university development report entitled “Building on the Glory of 90 Years to Accelerate the Development of a First-Class Agriculture and Forestry University with Higher Standards, More Distinctive Strengths and Greater Influence.” He said General Secretary Xi Jinping’s reply, in which Xi wrote that he had “continued to follow the university’s development over the years,” fully recognised its educational achievements, expressed high expectations and charted its future direction.

The report traced the university’s origins to the College of Agriculture at Fukien Christian University and Fujian Provincial Agricultural College. During the revolutionary wars, earlier generations of faculty and students pursued education amid difficult circumstances and took an active part in the movement to resist Japanese aggression and save the nation, and in the patriotic democratic movement. Founded in Huangli, Yong’an, Fujian Provincial Agricultural College pioneered higher agricultural education in Fujian. At the turn of the century, the agriculture and forestry institutions merged, setting the university on a path of high-quality development focused on strengthening its capabilities.

Over 90 years, the university has trained 350,000 highly qualified people for the country, the report said. Of its alumni, 19 have been named National Model Workers or National Advanced Workers, or awarded the National May 1 Labour Medal. It has won 35 awards across China’s three major national science and technology award categories and established 2 state key laboratories, the State Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Forestry Biosecurity and the State Key Laboratory of Mariculture Breeding, and 2 national engineering research centres, the China National Engineering Research Center of Juncao Technology and the National Engineering Research Center of Sugarcane. It has published 24 high-level research papers in Nature, Science and Cell and developed 20 nationally leading technologies in specialist areas including Juncao, soil erosion control and Chinese fir cultivation. Its 2 discipline clusters receiving support to achieve first-class standards, forestry and plant protection, have gained strength and momentum.

In international engagement, Juncao technology invented by the university has reached 118 countries, and a Confucius Institute it jointly established has been recognised as a Model Confucius Institute worldwide. The report said the university’s Juncao work and its operation of the Confucius Institute had both received General Secretary Xi Jinping’s close attention and full recognition.

The university has deep ties with Taiwan. Of Fujian Provincial Agricultural College’s 427 graduates in the 1940s, more than 180 went to Taiwan to support reconstruction following its recovery from Japanese rule. The university’s Taiwan alumni association remains the only registered alumni organisation of a mainland university in Taiwan. The university pioneered separate admissions for Taiwan students and agricultural cooperation with Taiwan, established 22 Fujian–Taiwan collaborative innovation platforms, and launched a “Three Hundreds” initiative: cooperation with 100 Taiwan enterprises, recruitment of 100 teachers from Taiwan and appointment of 100 industry mentors from Taiwan.

Xie said that, at this new starting point on its 90th anniversary, the university would advance the integrated development of education, science and technology, and talent, build on its distinctive disciplinary strengths and strive for national Double First-Class status. It would deepen its service to agriculture, rural areas and farmers and tackle industry challenges, while promoting closer cross-Strait integration in science and education and expanding its engagement with the wider world. These efforts would make fresh contributions to comprehensive rural revitalisation and building China into an agricultural powerhouse, he said.

University–city, inter-university and cross-Strait ties: addresses from representatives

Fuzhou Vice Mayor Lin Feng spoke on behalf of the local government. He said the university and Fuzhou shared the same city and were moving in the same direction. Fuzhou was adhering to the guiding principles of the “3820” Strategic Project and accelerating its development into a modern international city. He expressed the hope that the city and university would deepen integration between industry, academia and research, jointly develop demonstration models for rural revitalisation, and strengthen joint training and sharing of talent serving agriculture, rural areas and farmers.

Speaking on behalf of fellow universities, Hu Wenping said that for 90 years Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University had remained committed to serving the country by advancing agriculture. Across Fujian, it had put into practice the aspiration to “write research papers in the fields and bring the fruits of research into people’s homes.” He hoped the two universities would support one another and work together to make greater contributions to building a new Fujian, developing China into an educational powerhouse and advancing national rejuvenation.

Wang Shuyin, vice president of Chinese Culture University in Taiwan, spoke on behalf of Taiwan universities. She said Professor Wan Xiong, a graduate of Fujian Provincial Agricultural College, had served as an early dean of Chinese Culture University’s College of Agriculture and founded Taiwan’s first Graduate Institute of Biotechnology, becoming its first director, reflecting the deep ties between the universities. The two institutions began exchanges and cooperation early this century, she said, expressing the hope that they would continue to work together and help more young people grow through cooperation.

Heather Bruce, dean and campus principal at Dalhousie University’s Faculty of Agriculture and Agricultural Campus in Truro, Canada, spoke on behalf of overseas universities. She said the two universities had worked together for more than 20 years. The establishment of the FAFU-Dal Joint College and the advancement of programmes in landscape architecture, agricultural and forestry economics and management, and plant protection testified to their deepening cooperation. Dalhousie was ready to work with Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University to address global challenges in agriculture and sustainable development, she said.

Alumni, faculty and students: rooted in the fields, advancing a stronger agricultural sector

Zhang Shaoling, a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a professor at Nanjing Agricultural University, spoke on behalf of alumni. He recalled that his alma mater had taught him not only specialist knowledge but also principles for life and work, guiding his unwavering commitment over 40 years to pear genetics, breeding and cultivation and his production of the world’s first whole-genome map of the pear. He encouraged young students to study both “books with words” and the “wordless book” of experience.

Liao Hong, a deputy to the 14th National People’s Congress and a recipient of the national “Most Beautiful Teacher” honour, spoke on behalf of the faculty. She recounted her work promoting ecological tea gardens in Yanzike in the Wuyi Mountains and reporting to General Secretary Xi Jinping on the ecological cultivation technique of intercropping tea and soybeans. Scholarship should reach for the highest standards while remaining firmly grounded in practice, she said, pledging to use science and technology to advance rural revitalisation with “abundant grain, quality fruit, prosperous people and a beautiful environment.”

Lai Yueqian, a Taiwan current affairs commentator and visiting professor at the university, spoke on behalf of faculty from Taiwan. He shared reflections on tracing his roots in Gutian, Shanghang, Fujian. Citing national standards for Taiwan-style oolong tea and beauty tea jointly developed by the university and Taiwan experts, he described the university’s role in cross-Strait agricultural and forestry exchanges and cooperation. He said few mainland universities could rival its deep ties with Taiwan and pledged to continue building bridges for cross-Strait exchanges and cooperation to support integrated development across the Strait.

Zhang Junjing, resident executive chair of the Fujian Students’ Federation and a postgraduate student in the College of Management and Economics, spoke on behalf of students. She said young students would closely connect classroom learning with rural practice, deepen their commitment to agriculture and develop the skills to advance it, contributing their youthful energy to rural revitalisation and building an agricultural powerhouse.

At the conference, 90 representatives of young faculty and students delivered a collective tribute. Pledges to “build strength through the mountains, the fields and the seas,” to declare “we will help build a strong country and shoulder this great responsibility,” and to proclaim “at Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University’s 90th anniversary, youth answers the call” rang out through the auditorium. The conference concluded with the university song.

During preparations for the conference, more than 130 congratulatory letters and messages were received from domestic universities including Peking University, Renmin University of China, China Agricultural University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Sun Yat-sen University, from overseas universities including Wageningen University in the Netherlands, and from local governments, research institutions and partner organisations, congratulating Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University on its 90th anniversary.

Source: Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University’s WeChat account