On December 4, 2024, the China-Middle East Desert Rose and Greening Industry Seminar was held at the “China Pavilion” of the 16th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Riyadh. The seminar was hosted by the Center for Energy Transition and Social Development, School of Social Sciences, Tsinghua University, and co-organized by the China-Arab Green Development Cooperation Center, which focuses on desert-specific industries, aiming to promote technical exchanges and industrial cooperation by sharing the progress of China and Middle Eastern countries in desert rose planting, greening technology and garden industrialization, and to contribute Chinese wisdom to the “Green Middle East”. The seminar was supported by The National Forestry and Grassland Administration of China, the National Center for Vegetation Cover Development and Combating Desertification of Saudi Arabia, the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture of Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Financial Coordination Center, the Saudi Agricultural Association, and the Rose and Aromatic Plants Association.
Huang Caiyi, Director of the Desert Department of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration of China Photo by Xiaoyuanyuan
Huang Caiyi, Director of the Desert Department of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration of China, mentioned in his speech：“This year marks the 30th anniversary of the signing of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and the 30th anniversary of China’s signing of the Convention. We appreciate Saudi Arabia’s solemn commitment to addressing drought, desertification and land degradation in recent years, we support the common goal of “reducing land degradation by 50% by 2040”, and are willing to provide technical support for the “Green Saudi Arabia” plan to plant 10 billion trees and the “Green Middle East” plan to plant 40 billion trees. He also expressed good wishes for the successful completion of this event.
Dr. Aseel Othman Alsantely, Senior Research Expert of the National Center for Vegetation Cover Development and Combating Desertification of Saudi, Photo by Xiaoyuanyuan
Dr. Aseel Othman Alsantely, Senior Research Expert of the National Center for Vegetation Cover Development and Combating Desertification of Saudi Arabia, delivered a keynote speech entitled “Saudi Arabia’s Research and Innovation Contributions to Green and Sustainable Development”. Afterwards, Dr. Aseel Othman Alsantely introduced to the guests the achievements made by Saudi Arabia in the fields of ecological environment and nature reserves, and looked forward to jointly promoting desertification control with Chinese partners.
Ms. Guo Lijun, Director of the China-Arab Green Development Cooperation Center, Photo by Xiaoyuanyuan
Ms. Guo Lijun, Director of the China-Arab Green Development Cooperation Center, brought a video about the rose industry in Yao’an County, Yunnan Province and Hotan City in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China to the guests, and shared development experience of China’s rose industry. which has not only successfully achieved modern and standardized planting and production, but also completed digital and technologically integrated industrial upgrades.
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, Photo by Xiaoyuanyuan
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 learn about the current status of Taif’s rose industry and invited guests to the 2025 World Forum on Roses and Aromatic Plants. Taif has a long history of rose cultivation and currently produces 500 million roses every year.
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.
Representative of Ningxia Yuansheng Lvyang Forest and Grass Ecological Engineering Ltd,Photo by Xiaoyuanyuan
Representative of Henan Zhengsai Repair Technology Ltd,Photo by Xiaoyuanyuan
Zhang Xiuling, Vice President of Zhongan Huali Construction Group,Photo by Xiaoyuanyuan
Representative of Beijing Pop China Culture Communication Ltd, Photo by Xiaoyuanyuan
Representative of Yuncheng Qinghai Technology Ltd, Photo by Xiaoyuanyuan
At the end of the seminar, a launching ceremony of the “50 Billion Trees Planting Action to Support the Green Middle East Initiative” was held. The action was jointly initiated by the Center for Energy Transition and Social Development, School of Social Sciences, Tsinghua University, and co-organized by the 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 corporate partners, which includes building natural ecological demonstration areas, establishing a friendly cooperation mechanism of nature reserves between China and Saudi Arabia, building plant nurseries and seed banks in desert areas, promoting localization of green technologies, introducing industrial investment, technology incubation, and technology and investment of rose planting and processing. The action intends to increase the annual output of Taif roses to 2 billion, supporting Saudi Arabia’s green initiative.
This seminar was held under the mechanism of the 16th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. Chinese and foreign guests were invited to exchange views on the desert rose industry and greening technology. In the future, multilateral cooperation will continue, and continuous exploration and innovation will be carried out on the path of green development to contribute to the realization of a “Green Middle East” and even zero growth in land degradation in the world.
