The 2026 Smart Agriculture Expo opened at the Nanning International Convention and Exhibition Center in Guangxi on October 23. The expo was hosted by the Foreign Economic Cooperation Center of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. With the theme “Smart Agriculture, Digitally Connected Villages,” this year’s expo aimed to advance the initiatives put forward by President Xi Jinping at the World AI Conference and High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance. These include promoting international cooperation, helping Global South countries strengthen their capacity, bridging the digital-intelligence divide, and advancing sustainable development. The expo also sought to implement the China–ASEAN Joint Statement on Promoting the Development of Smart Agriculture. 

The expo showcased cutting-edge smart agriculture technologies from China and the world and offered a professional platform for technical discussions, the commercialization of scientific and technological achievements, and matchmaking between suppliers and buyers. By harnessing AI to develop new quality productive forces in agriculture, the expo promoted smart agriculture cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative and supported agricultural modernization in the region. The expo featured three main sections: intelligent equipment, “AI Plus” agricultural services, and digital villages. They covered characteristic and competitive industries, including grain and oil crops, sugarcane, fruits and vegetables, livestock, and fisheries. 

More than 100 companies from countries and regions including the United States, Germany, Israel, and ASEAN member states participated in the expo. Nearly 1,000 new technologies and products were displayed, including agricultural robots, smart irrigation systems, agricultural big data platforms, and agricultural AI agents. The expo also invited 100 delegations of professional buyers from 20 countries and regions, with the total visitor number estimated to reach nearly 20,000. 

A series of events was held alongside the expo, covering the entire agricultural value chain, from smart crop cultivation and livestock breeding, advanced processing of agro-products to cold-chain storage. Discussions were also held that focused on areas such as intelligent equipment for the entire rice production process, digital services for agricultural inputs, intelligent management systems for agricultural enterprises, and AI agents for farmland inspection. Through thematic discussions, technical exchanges, and company presentations, the expo aimed to provide a platform to showcase China’s smart agriculture technologies, equipment, and standards, promoting China’s digital agriculture innovations to ASEAN markets.