From April 13 to 18, 2025, a delegation led by Prof. Liu Wende, Deputy Director General of the Department of International Cooperation at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) and Chief Scientist of the Innovation Team for Monitoring and Control of Fungal Diseases in Food Crops at IPPCAAS, visited the French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and Environment (INRAE). The delegation engaged in extensive discussions with experts from relevant French research institutes to strengthen bilateral cooperation in science and technology plant protection.  

The delegation visited the Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences at the INRAE Versailles campus, where they held in-depth exchanges with researchers from the laboratory of Prof. Emmanuelle Jacquin-Joly, French Co-Director of the China-France Joint Laboratory for Plant Protection, and the laboratory of Prof. Didier Lereclus at Micalis. Prof. Liu Wende gave a comprehensive overview of CAAS and its international cooperation strategy. Dr. Tian Fang, Deputy Director of the Division of Domestic and International Cooperation of IPPCAAS, briefed the INRAE experts on IPPCAAS’s latest progress in scientific innovation, team development, and international engagement. Prof. Liu Taiguo and Prof. Wang Bing shared recent breakthroughs in fungal disease monitoring and control in wheat, insect olfactory mechanisms, and the development of environmentally friendly pesticides. French experts and jointly trained graduate students also presented updates on their respective research areas.  

During the visit, the delegation also toured the Institute Jean-Pierre Bourgin for Plant Sciences (IJPB) at the Versailles campus and the UMR Genetics, Diversity and Ecophysiology of Cereals (UMR GDEC) at the Clermont-Ferrand campus. They held academic exchanges with local experts and discussed topics of mutual interest such as root microbiomes, crop disease resistance mechanisms, and breeding of high-quality new varieties. Both sides expressed intentions to strengthen future cooperation through researcher exchanges, mutual visits, and joint training of graduate students.

This visit not only consolidated the foundation of the China-French Joint Laboratory for Plant Protection, but also broadened avenues for substantive collaboration in the research and development of plant disease and pest management technologies as well as the innovative utilization of germplasm resources. It is expected to inject new impetus into joint technological innovation between China and France in the field of plant protection, and will play a strategically significant role in advancing bilateral agricultural science and technology cooperation and strengthening food security.

Since the launch of the Joint Laboratory, the two sides have conducted over 30 mutual visits, jointly trained more than 10 graduate students and young scientists, and co-authored over 40 papers in leading international journals such as  Nature Communications ,  Molecular Biology and Evolution, PNAS , and  eLife.  They have jointly applied for and secured eight collaborative projects, including those under China’s National Key R&D Program, the Horizon Europe, and the NSFC-CNRS Cooperation and Exchange Project. In recognition of their contributions, French experts Prof. Didier Lereclus and Prof. Emmanuelle Jacquin-Joly were awarded the Chinese Government Friendship Award in 2019 and 2024, respectively.