On the evening of July 14, Beijing time, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences (SAAS) and International Quinoa Center (IQC) officially signed an international cooperation agreement via online meeting to jointly launch the construction of the "Shanghai Quinoa Innovation Center International Cooperation Platform." Jesus Equise Mamani, Executive Director of IQC; Julio Cesar Laime Estrada, Department Head of IQC; Qin Peiyou, Director of the Quinoa Professional Committee of the Chinese Crop Science Society and Researcher at the Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences; Ren Guixing, Consultant of IQC and Visiting Professor at SAAS; Zhao Zhihui, Vice President of SAAS, attended the signing ceremony.

Zhao Zhihui highly commended the pivotal role played by Jesus, Director of IQC, in driving this collaboration and expressed sincere gratitude to Researcher Qin Peiyou and Professor Ren Guixing for their long-term professional guidance. He stated that the quinoa international cooperation platform is a crucial vehicle for promoting high-quality development of the global quinoa industry. The establishment of the Shanghai Quinoa Innovation Center International Cooperation Platform not only focuses on technological innovation and commercialization but also aims to build a collaborative network for agricultural science and technology between China and Latin America. He expressed hope that the partnership would yield fruitful results, contributing Shanghai’s wisdom and strength to advancing the global quinoa industry and deepening "Belt and Road" international cooperation among China and Latin American countries.

Jesus emphasized that IQC would fully support the construction of the Shanghai Quinoa Innovation Center International Cooperation Platform. He looked forward to strengthening collaborative innovation and talent exchanges based on this partnership, jointly overcoming key technological bottlenecks in the quinoa industry, and promoting sustainable quinoa development worldwide. He expressed confidence that the collaboration would make significant contributions to global food security and nutritional health.

Qin Peiyou delivered an online speech congratulating the official launch of the in-depth cooperation between the two parties. He noted that the construction of the Shanghai Quinoa Innovation Center International Cooperation Platform embodies Shanghai’s efforts to become an international economic, financial, trade, shipping, and technological innovation hub. The platform will accelerate China’s quinoa technological innovation and industrial development, radiating and driving high-quality growth in major quinoa-producing regions globally.

According to the agreement, both parties will integrate superior research resources to conduct joint research on key aspects of the quinoa industry chain, including germplasm innovation, green and efficient cultivation, and high-value processing and utilization. The successful signing marks a new phase of in-depth cooperation between the two parties in quinoa industry chain international collaboration, technological innovation, and industrial application, injecting new momentum into deepening the "Five Major Projects" and "Belt and Road" agricultural science and technology international cooperation among China and Latin American countries.

Officials from Scientific Research Management DIvision, Biotechnology Research Institute, and other relevant departments attended the ceremony.