On July 4th, a Thai cassava industry delegation, led by prominent agricultural company SMS, visited the CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences. The delegation focused on touring the Root and Tuber Crop Biotechnology Group led by Researcher Zhang Peng, aiming to deepen Sino-Thai cassava cooperation and explore new opportunities in germplasm innovation and industrial upgrading. During the welcome meeting, Zhang Peng presented the National Cassava Industrial Technology System's latest progress in germplasm resource utilization, new variety demonstration, and high-efficiency mechanization, particularly highlighting breakthroughs in gene editing. These advancements drew significant attention from the Thai delegates, who acknowledged the potential for these technologies to substantially enhance local industry efficiency and expressed a clear willingness to collaborate.

Subsequent discussions centered on three key areas of cooperation. Firstly, both sides explored promoting industry-academia-research collaboration and technology transfer. Secondly, they agreed to jointly tackle the challenge of Cassava Mosaic Disease (originating in Sri Lanka) by developing resistant varieties using conventional breeding and gene editing techniques. Thirdly, plans were discussed to conduct precision breeding and resource sharing to meet Southeast Asia's specific demand for non-GMO disease-resistant cassava varieties. Zhang Peng's team confirmed their active work in these areas and expressed readiness to deepen collaboration to achieve tangible progress.

This visit underscored the significant role of Zhang Peng's team in fostering international scientific cooperation. It effectively laid a solid foundation for future Sino-Thai collaboration in critical areas such as cassava disease-resistant breeding, mechanization promotion, and technical training. Looking ahead, both parties committed to leveraging the "Belt and Road" agricultural science and technology cooperation initiative as a guiding framework to jointly drive innovation in tropical crops and promote regional industrial development.