The China–Serbia Training Workshop on Poverty Alleviation Through Functional Plant Science and Technology concluded in Beijing on April 27. The workshop was hosted by the China Rural Technology Development Center (CRDTC) and organized by the Institute of Vegetables and Flowers of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, with support from relevant departments of the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. Ten participants from Serbian government agencies, research institutes, and relevant enterprises took part in the workshop. 

During the week-long workshop, participants systematically learned about China’s advanced technologies and successful experience in the cultivation, deep processing, and industrial development of functional plants such as tree peonies and herbaceous peonies through thematic lectures, technology matchmaking sessions, and seminars. Participants also conducted field visits to tree peony industrial parks, herbaceous peony cut-flower production bases, rural vitalization demonstration villages, traditional Chinese medicinal herb markets, and vocational schools in Heze, Shandong Province. They visited fields and factory workshops and held face-to-face exchanges with local government officials, business executives, and flower farmers. 

The workshop effectively enhanced the Serbian participants’ professional expertise and practical capabilities in the development of functional plants, and further deepened mutual understanding and consensus on cooperation in science and technology-driven poverty alleviation. At the closing ceremony, participants noted that, by learning firsthand about the development of the tree peony and herbaceous peony industries in Heze, they truly experienced the vitality that science and technology have brought to the industrial development of functional plants. They also gained a clear understanding of China’s approach to poverty alleviation, which leverages scientific and technological innovation to drive industrial development and increase farmers’ income. Participants further acknowledged that China’s experience in poverty alleviation through science and technology offers valuable reference for rural development in Serbia.