The year 2017 is a pivotal year for implementing the 13th Five-Year Plan and for deepening supply-side structural reform. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Party Central Committee and the State Council have attached great importance to green development. Recently, the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council jointly issued the “Opinions on Innovating Institutional Mechanisms to Promote Green Agricultural Development,” which emphasizes that advancing green agricultural development is an essential requirement for implementing the new development philosophy and for furthering supply-side structural reform in agriculture.

　　On October 14, the 17th National Pesticide Exchange Conference—specifically its keynote session, the Yangnong Forum—sponsored by the China Pesticide Industry Association, was grandly held in Shanghai. With the theme “Confronting Multiple Industry Challenges and Pursuing a Path of Green Development,” the event aligns with the green development philosophy put forward by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council. This year’s conference specially invited leading officials and experts from the pesticide industry to focus on current industry hot topics, engage in candid discussions on issues of common concern, and jointly deliberate on strategies for industry development, collaboration, and mutually beneficial outcomes. The session was co-chaired by Li Zhonghua, Secretary-General of the China Pesticide Industry Association, and Cao Chengyu, Deputy Secretary-General, and drew nearly 500 participants.

　　Sun Shubao, President of the China Pesticide Industry Association, delivered a keynote address at the conference. President Sun noted that in recent years, China’s pesticide industry—historically dominated by generic formulations—has made encouraging strides in innovation and R&D. He emphasized that the coming period will be a critical phase for the industry as it transitions from reliance on generics to the development of truly innovative, proprietary products. He urged companies committed to driving innovation to clearly define their market positioning and strive to become “little giants” in their respective niche segments. With the introduction and gradual implementation of the national policy aimed at achieving zero growth in the use of pesticides and fertilizers, the era of pure scale expansion is giving way to high-quality development driven by technological innovation. Accelerating structural adjustment and transformation and upgrading, and leveraging technological progress to propel industry growth have become the defining theme for the future of China’s pesticide sector—and the inevitable path toward transforming the country from a major pesticide producer into a global leader in the field. The newly revised Regulations on Pesticide Administration place particular emphasis on green and sustainable agricultural development. President Sun called on responsible enterprises in the industry to steadfastly implement green and sustainable development strategies, enhance their management of health, safety, and environmental performance, and thoughtfully explore how the sector can achieve growth while reducing overall pesticide usage.

　　The newly revised Regulations on the Administration of Pesticides, together with the relevant supporting rules and regulations, have been promulgated and put into effect, thereby clarifying the overall framework for pesticide management in the new era. The core tasks of pesticide management are encapsulated in six key principles: “control, suppress, limit, shift, reduce, and manage,” which align with the green development of agriculture and the supply-side structural reform of the agricultural sector. Zeng Yande, Director-General of the Department of Crop Production Management and Director of the Pesticide Administration under the Ministry of Agriculture, pointed out that the issuance of the new Regulations on the Administration of Pesticides and the associated supporting rules is seamlessly integrated with the direction of agricultural development. It upholds the priority of quality and safety, is guided by the green development philosophy, is driven by reform and innovation, and is market-oriented. The fundamental essence of these measures is reflected in “three improvements and one strengthening”: raising the entry threshold for the industry, increasing industry concentration, enhancing innovation capacity, and strengthening market oversight. Director Zeng believes that the introduction of the new regulations is a crucial step in promoting green and sustainable agricultural development, carrying significant implications that can be summarized in three key aspects: ensuring supply—pesticides continue to play an important role; ensuring safety—requirements for the scientific use of pesticides are steadily rising; and protecting the ecological environment—advancing the task of reducing pesticide use while improving efficacy remains a formidable challenge. Director Zeng expressed high expectations for pesticide enterprises, urging them to make concerted efforts to contribute to the transformation and upgrading of agriculture by staying attuned to overarching trends, adopting a holistic perspective, strengthening their sense of responsibility, actively participating, and shouldering their duties, so as to ensure that pesticides are properly managed and effectively used. He also called on the industry to enhance collaboration and jointly promote the healthy development of the pesticide sector by achieving “three fulfills” and “three stricts”: ensuring full accountability, implementing supporting measures, and conducting comprehensive publicity and training; and enforcing strict standards, rigorous law enforcement, and stringent discipline.

　　Zhou Puguo, Director of the Pesticide Testing Institute of the Ministry of Agriculture, has called on the industry to take green development as its central theme, striving to create a new hallmark for industry growth by ensuring that policies support green practices, research and development drive green innovation, technology fosters green advancement, application enhances green outcomes, and information provides green support. Director Zhou believes that green development is of paramount importance: it represents a profound revolution in the modern agricultural development paradigm; it embodies the spirit underlying the revision and improvement of relevant regulations and supporting rules; it is an intrinsic requirement for the transformation and upgrading of the pesticide industry; and it serves as a sustained impetus for international cooperation in the sector. In recent years, the pesticide industry has made substantial progress, with continuous optimization of product mix, steadily enhanced innovation capacity, accelerated resource integration, and constant renewal of market models. However, serious challenges remain, including severe product homogenization, significant overcapacity in certain segments, acute market environment issues, and widespread problems related to improper pesticide use. To further advance green development in the pesticide sector, Director Zhou emphasizes the need to firmly establish and implement the new development philosophy, guided by the spirit of documents issued by the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council, and in strict accordance with the directives of the Party Leadership Group of the Ministry of Agriculture. The focus must be on serving the overarching goal of green agricultural development, with product safety, industrial intensification, efficient utilization, and sustainable development as the overarching requirements. Adhering to the principles of innovation-led, market-driven, management-oriented, and technology-supported approaches, we must establish and refine institutional mechanisms, adopt a multi-pronged, coordinated strategy, and make concerted efforts to promote safer, more efficient, and more sustainable development of the pesticide industry. Specifically, the key lies in upholding four fundamental principles: placing the green development philosophy at the core of our guidance; making service to green agricultural development the fundamental objective; setting product safety, industrial intensification, efficient utilization, and sustainable development as the overarching requirements; and adhering to innovation-led, market-driven, management-oriented, and technology-supported approaches as the basic principles.

　　The petrochemical industry is the upstream sector for agrochemicals. With increasingly stringent environmental and safety regulations, prices of agrochemical raw materials and intermediates have experienced significant volatility, exerting a profound impact on the agrochemical industry. Zhao Jungui, Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation, analyzed the recent development trends in the petrochemical sector and emphasized two imperatives: first, the transformation and upgrading of China’s petrochemical industry is imperative; second, vigorous efforts are needed to upgrade and transform traditional Chinese chemical industries, including the agrochemical sector. According to Chairman Zhao, the Chinese agrochemical industry can neither rely solely on imports nor simply relocate its production abroad; the only viable path forward is to enhance quality and strengthen competitiveness. The industry must maintain unwavering confidence, build distinctive strengths and international competitiveness, and develop one of the world’s most advanced agrochemical value chains. It must also embrace bold innovation, leveraging the world’s most cutting-edge technologies and economic practices to modernize and upgrade the sector; transform business models; reinforce self-regulation; and raise the level of organizational integration within the industry.

　　In addition to interpreting the new policies on industry regulation and conducting an in-depth analysis of the broader development environment, the conference also shared several new development concepts.

　　Chen Jianping, former president of the Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, believes that relying solely on single-discipline research in plant protection cannot fully address the increasingly pressing challenges posed by pests and diseases. Instead, multidisciplinary collaborative innovation and cross-sectoral, cross-industry coordination are essential for more effective problem-solving. Moreover, the comprehensive, precision-based management and control of crop pests and diseases throughout their entire life cycle have emerged as a prevailing trend.

　　As new technologies evolve and are applied, agricultural models are likewise transforming. The continuous advancement of digital tools and data, coupled with collaboration among farmers and researchers from both public and private sectors, is driving the development of modern agriculture. After undergoing three distinct phases—chemicals, biotechnology, and seeds—Monsanto has once again embarked on proactive transformation. Leveraging a data-science platform, the company has integrated its R&D pipelines for crop breeding, biotechnology, crop protection, and bio-based solutions, shifting its focus from a mere product manufacturer to a provider of comprehensive, end-to-end solutions. Juan A. Ferreira, Vice President of Global Crop Protection and Agricultural Microbiomes at Monsanto, presented the company’s development philosophy and its integrated digital-agriculture solutions to the conference delegates.

　　Mergers and reorganizations have also been a hot topic in the industry over the past two years. Last year, the sector experienced a severe downturn, prompting multinational corporations to consolidate for mutual support, while domestic firms entered a wave of M&A activity. Du Hui, President of Beijing Yanhua Yongle Biotechnology Co., Ltd., analyzed the drivers behind global mergers and reorganizations among multinational agrochemical companies, offering insights into the merger between DuPont and Dow as well as ChemChina’s acquisition of Syngenta, and drawing out the opportunities and challenges facing Chinese enterprises. In light of the current situation in China’s agrochemical and crop protection industries—namely, a lack of scale, technology, talent, and capital—President Du recommends that Chinese firms focus on creating differentiation, building competitive advantages, and leveraging their own strengths: first survive, then grow.

　　Concurrent with the plenary session (the Yangnong Forum), the 10th China Pesticide Innovation Contribution Awards ceremony was held, and a list of HSE-compliant enterprises in the Chinese pesticide industry was released.