The China-Middle East Desert Rose and Greening Industry Seminar was grandly held at the China Pavilion of the 16th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on December 4, 2024.
The Desert Rose and Desert Biodiversity Seminar is hosted by the School of Social Sciences of Tsinghua University and co-organized by the China-Arab Green Development Cooperation Center. It aims to promote technical exchanges and industrial cooperation by sharing the progress of China and Middle Eastern countries in desert rose cultivation, greening technology and garden industrialization, and to contribute Chinese wisdom to the “Green Middle East”.
The seminar received strong support from the National Forestry and Grassland Administration of China, National Center for Vegetation Cover Development and Combating Desertification of Saudi Arabia, the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture of Taif, Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Financial Coordination Center, the Saudi Agricultural Association and the Rose and Aromatic Plant Association.
Huang Caiyi, Director of the Desertification Control Department of the National Center for Vegetation Cover Development and Combating Desertification of Saudi Arabia, pointed out in his speech that the current event marks the 30th anniversary of the signing of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and the 30th anniversary of China’s formal accession to the Convention. Director Huang appreciated Saudi Arabia’s firm commitment in recent years to combat drought, desertification and land degradation, and expressed support for its ambitious goal of halving land degradation by 2040. In addition, Director Huang expressed China’s willingness to provide technical assistance to Saudi Arabia’s National Greening Program, which aims to plant 10 billion trees, and the “Green Middle East” program, which aims to plant 40 billion trees. Finally, Director Huang expressed his best wishes for the success of the event.
Dr. Aseel Othman Alsantely, Senior Research Expert of National Center for Vegetation Cover Development and Combating Desertification of Saudi Arabia, delivered a keynote speech on “Saudi Arabia’s Research and Innovation Contributions to Green and Sustainable Development”.
Then, senior research expert Dr. Aseel Othman Alsantely showed the participants the achievements of Saudi Arabia in the field of ecology and nature conservation, and expressed the hope of working with Chinese partners to promote desertification prevention and control.
Ms. Guo Lijun, Director of the China-Arab Green Development Cooperation Center, showed the guests video materials of the rose industry in Yao’an County, Yunnan Province and Hotan City in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and shared the development experience of China’s rose industry.
China’s rose industry has not only achieved modernization and standardization of planting and production, but also completed industrial upgrading with digital transformation and technology integration.
By introducing advanced agricultural technologies and management methods, China’s rose industry has significantly improved its output and quality while reducing production costs. In addition, the use of big data and Internet of Things technologies has realized the intelligence of the entire chain from planting, management to sales, ensuring the traceability of products from the field to the market. These innovative measures have not only enhanced the market competitiveness of Chinese roses, but also provided valuable experience for the sustainable development of the global flower industry. Therefore, China is willing to apply these successful experiences and technologies to tree planting programs in the Middle East to help Middle Eastern countries promote local economic development and improve people’s living standards while improving the ecological environment.
After gaining an in-depth understanding of China’s rose industry, Mr. Abdulrahman Owad Al-Shelbi, the President of the Taif Branch of the Saudi Agricultural Association and Director of the Rose and Aromatic Plants Association, led the guests to Taif, known as the “City of Roses”, to explore the development status of the local rose industry and sincerely invite everyone to participate in the World Forum on Roses and Aromatic Plants to be held in 2025. The Taif region is famous for its long history of rose cultivation, and currently produces 500 million roses annually.
Subsequently, Ningxia Yuansheng Lvyang Forest and Grass Ecological Engineering Ltd, Henan Zhengsai Repair Technology Ltd, Zhongan Huali Construction Group, Beijing Pop China Culture Communication Ltd, and Yuncheng Qinghai Technology Ltd respectively gave keynote speeches on “Ningxia Sand-dwelling Plant Seeds and Seedlings”, “New Technology on Redundant Desert Tree Planting”, “Hui Camel on the Belt and Road”, “Co-build a Green Development Platform”, and “Application Cases of “Shubao” in Desertification Prevention and Control”, contributing wisdom to the green transformation of desertified areas.
In this process, Chinese companies not only demonstrated their advanced technologies in ecological restoration and desertification prevention, but also shared their valuable experience in project management and sustainable development. Through these collaborations, afforestation projects in the Middle East have been efficiently promoted, which not only improved the local ecological environment, but also promoted the diversified development of social economy. In addition, Chinese companies have also jointly developed plant varieties suitable for the local environment with Middle Eastern partners, which have shown significant effects in increasing vegetation coverage and improving soil quality. Through these efforts, China has played an important role in the tree planting plan in the Middle East and set an example for global ecological governance and sustainable development.
At the end of the seminar, a launching ceremony for the “50 Billion Trees Action Plan to Support the Green Middle East Initiative” was held.
The plan was jointly initiated by the Center for Energy Transition and Social Development Research of the School of Social Sciences of Tsinghua University, International Energy Network , China-Arab Green Development Cooperation Center, the Saudi Ministry of Environment, Agriculture and Water, the Saudi Financial Coordination Center, the Rose and Plant Fragrance Association and many corporate partners. It aims to jointly build a natural ecological demonstration area, establish a friendly exchange and cooperation mechanism between China and Saudi Arabia nature reserves, jointly build plant nurseries and seed banks in desert areas, promote the localization of green technologies, introduce industrial investment and technology incubation, and introduce rose planting and processing technology and investment. The goal is to increase the annual output of Taif roses to 2 billion to support Saudi Arabia’s green initiatives.
