Think Tank Dialogue Replay

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2021 U.S. - China Agriculture Roundtable

Think Tank Dialogue

What new frontiers of global collaboration are there for U.S. - China in agriculture?

Event Agenda

Segment 1: Agriculture and Rural Development

Segment 2: International Cooperation and Green Development

Participant Bios: Segment 1

Dr. Wei Houkai 魏后凯

Director General and Research Fellow of the Rural Development Institute of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

Dr. Wei Houkai 魏后凯

Dr. WEI Houkai, Ph.D in Economics, Director and Senior Research Fellow of the Rural Development Institute of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Member of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee of the 13th National People's Congress, Member of Evaluation Group of Agricultural and Forestry Economics and Management Discipline of the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council, Distinguished Professor and Doctoral Supervisor of the University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

He is also the Executive Vice President of Center for Urban and Rural Development Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, President of the Chinese Association of Suburban Economic Studies (CASES), and Chinese Society of Forestry, Animal Husbandry and Fishery Economics (CSFAFE), Vice-President of the Regional Science Association of China (RSAC), Chinese Association of Regional Economics, and China Society of Urban Economy; Member of Advisory Committee of the Office of the Rural Work Leading Group  of CCP, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Ministry of Civil Affairs, Beijing Municipal Government, and Shandong and Guangdong Provincial Governments of PRC.

His research expertise is regional economics and development economics. He was selected as one of the leading talents of philosophy and social sciences in the national "Ten-Thousand Talents Program" and one of the national “Cultural Masters and Talents in Four Fields”.

About Dr. Wei Houkai 魏后凯

Dr. Ma Xiaohe 马晓河

Former Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Macroeconomics Research

Dr. Ma Xiaohe 马晓河

Dr. Ma Xiaohe is Senior Researcher, Post-doctoral Supervisor and former Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Macroeconomics Research (Former Academy of Macroeconomics Research of National Development and Reform Commission of China); Vice President of the Chinese Association of Agricultural Economics; Member of the China New Supply-side Economics 50 Forum, China Investment 50 Forum and China Regional Economy 50 Forum; Professor and Doctoral Supervisor of Renmin University of China, Doctoral Supervisor of the Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Adjunct Professor of the National School of Governance of China; Expert lecturer of the 17th Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. He has participated in the drafting of government documents and attended the consultative meetings held by the central government and the State Council for many times. He has been the State Council Expert for Special Allowance since 1993 and a senior expert directly contacted by the government since 2004. His main research areas are macroeconomic analysis, industrial structure and industrial policy, agricultural and rural development and system reform.

About Dr. Ma Xiaohe 马晓河
Elsa Murano

Dr. Elsa A. Murano

Director of the Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture, Professor and President Emerita Texas A&M University

Dr. Elsa A. Murano

A graduate of Florida International University (B.S. in Biological Sciences) and Virginia Tech (M.S. in Anaerobic Microbiology and PhD in Food Science & Technology), Dr. Murano began her career as an Assistant Professor in food microbiology at Iowa State University in 1990, where she conducted research in food safety.  In 1995, she joined the faculty at Texas A&M University as Associate Professor, leading the university’s Center for Food Safety as Director.  She has received funding since 1990 of over $9 million for her research in foodborne pathogens, and has published more than 50 scientific articles and 7 book chapters in the field.  In 2001, Professor Murano was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve as Undersecretary for Food Safety at the Department of Agriculture, the highest ranking food safety official in the U.S. government. 

In 2005, Dr. Murano returned to Texas A&M, where she was appointed Dean and Vice Chancellor of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the largest such program in the nation.  During her tenure, she reversed the declining enrollment in the College, secured increased funding from the state for the agriculture agencies, and rebranded the agencies to better reflect the important role of agriculture in the life sciences.  In 2008, Dr. Murano became the first woman, and first Hispanic president of Texas A&M University.  Her initiatives resulted in an increase in state funding, remodeling of the Memorial Student Center and Military Walk, construction of the Agriculture and Life Sciences buildings, and the rise in the university’s rankings by U.S. News & World Reports from 24th to 21st among public universities.  Since June of 2012, Dr. Murano has been serving as Director of the Norman E. Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture, which boasts a research project portfolio of over $40 million being conducted in Asia, Latin America, Sub Saharan Africa, and the Middle East.  In addition to her teaching and research duties, she serves on the Board of Directors of Hormel Foods Corporation, the International Life Sciences Institute for North America, and the Food Processors Institute Foundation.

About Dr. Elsa A. Murano
cathiewoteki

Dr. Catherine E. Woteki

Professor of Food Science and Human Nutrition Iowa State University, Visiting Distinguished Institute Professor Biocomplexity Institute University of Virginia and President of the Charles Valentine Riley Memorial Foundation

Dr. Catherine E. Woteki

Dr. Catherine E. Woteki is a Distinguished Institute Professor with the Biocomplexity Institute at the University of Virginia. Dr. Woteki is a well-respected scholar and a leader in science policy. She is known nationally and internationally for her wealth of knowledge of agriculture, food, nutrition and health from her years of leadership in government, industry and academia. She also is currently a Professor of Food Science and Human Nutrition at Iowa State University where she served as Dean of the College of Agriculture from 2002 to 2005.

Dr. Woteki was Undersecretary for United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Research, Education, and Economics (REE) mission area, as well as the department's chief scientist from 2010 to 2016. Her responsibilities included oversight of the four agencies that comprise REE, the Agricultural Research Service, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Economic Research Service, and National Agricultural Statistics Service, as well as the National Agriculture Library and National Arboretum.

She has held other prestigious positions, including Deputy Associate Director for Science in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) from 1994 to 1996. At OSTP, she co-authored the Clinton Administration's policy statement, Science in the National Interest. She also served as the first Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food Safety during the Clinton Administration, 1997-2001.

Dr. Woteki was director of the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine at the National Academy of Sciences from 1990 to 1993. During her tenure as director of the Food and Nutrition Board, she had direct responsibility for 27 studies and co-edited a nutrition book entitled Eat for Life, which became a Book-of-the-Month-Club selection. She has also held positions in the National Center for Health Statistics from 1983 to 1990 and the Human Nutrition Information Service at USDA from 1981 to 1983.

Dr. Woteki is the recipient of many awards for her contributions to science and society, and was inducted into the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, USDA, Hall of Fame in 2017.

About Dr. Catherine E. Woteki
Participant Bios: Segment 2

Dr. Li Xiande 李先德

Senior Researcher Professor at the Institute of Agricultural Economics and Development, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS)

Dr. Li Xiande 李先德

Dr. LI Xiande is a senior researcher (professor) at the Institute of Agricultural Economics and Development, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) and a State Council Expert for Special Allowance. He is also a member of the United Nations High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition (HLPE), the Vice Chairman of the Global Important Agricultural Cultural Heritage Expert Committee of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China, and the Vice Chairman of the Chinese Society of Foreign Agricultural Economy (CSFAE). In 2000, he received a doctorate degree from the School of Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences of France (EHESS, École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales). He worked as a consultant in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris, France in 2000 and 2001. From 2010 to 2014, he participated in the negotiation of international agricultural rules of voluntary guidelines on land tenure and responsible agricultural investment led by the Committee on World Food Security (CFS).

About Dr. Li Xiande 李先德
Yongsheng Zhang

Yongsheng Zhang 张永生

Director General and Research Fellow of the Research Institute for Eco-Civilization of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

Yongsheng Zhang 张永生

Professor/Dr. Yongsheng Zhang is Senior Research Fellow and Director General of Research Institute for Eco-Civilization (RIEco) at Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). Prior to joining CASS in 2019, he was the Chief Expert on Green Development, Senior Research Fellow at Development Research Center(DRC) of the State Council of P.R. China. He is a Special Advisor of China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED) . His research is mainly focused on ecological civilization, environmental & ecological economics, green development, and Chinese economy.

In recent years, he has been doing systematic theoretic and policy research on green development in the perspective of redefining development and exploring its new policy implications for environment and development. He also conducted natural green development experiments in less developed regions for achieving leapfrog development through green transformation. He is also the author of numerous policy reports, including “The New Era of Green Development: China’s Transition to 2050”, a flagship report of CCICED, and “Seizing the Opportunity of Green Development in China”, a pillar report of the joint project between DRC and the World Bank “China 2030”.

About Yongsheng Zhang 张永生
Rattan Lal

Rattan Lal

Director, CFAES Dr. Rattan Lal Carbon Management and Sequestration Center (C-MASC) Distinguished University Professor of Soil Science, Ohio State University

Rattan Lal

Rattan Lal, Ph.D., is a Distinguished University Professor of Soil Science and Director of the Carbon Management and Sequestration Center at The Ohio State University, and an Adjunct Professor of University of Iceland. He received a N.S. from Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, India (1963); M.S. from Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India (1965); and Ph.D. from the Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio (1968).

He served as Sr. Research Fellow with the University of Sydney, Australia (1968-69), Soil Physicist at IITA, Ibadan, Nigeria (1970-87), and Professor of Soil Science at OSU (1987-to date). He has authored/co-authored 955 refereed journal articles and 543 book chapters, has written 22 and edited/co-edited 76 books. He was included in the Thomson Reuters list of the World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds (2014-2016), and he is among Clarivate’s Highly Cited Researchers in Agriculture (2014-2019). He has received an Honoris Causa degree from seven universities in Europe, USA and Asia; the Medal of Honor from UIMP, Santander, Spain (2018); the Distinguished Service Medal of IUSS (2018); and is fellow of the five professional societies.

Dr.Lal has mentored 112 graduate students and 180 visiting scholars from around the world. He was President of the World Association of Soil and Water Conservation (1987-1990), International Soil and Tillage Research Organization (1988-1991), Soil Science Society of America (2006-2008), and the International Union of Soil Sciences (2017-2018). He is laureate of the GCHERA World Agriculture Prize (2018), Glinka World Soil Prize (2018), the Japan Prize (2019), the U.S. Awasthi IFFCO Prize (2019), and the World Food Prize (2020).

About Rattan Lal

Robert L. Thompson

Professor Emeritus, Gardner Endowed Chair in Agricultural Policy at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Dr. Robert L. Thompson

Dr. Robert L. Thompson is Professor Emeritus at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he held the Gardner Endowed Chair in Agricultural Policy. He is also Senior Fellow, global agricultural development and food security, with the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and Senior Adviser (non-resident), global food security, Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC. He served until recently on the International Food Information Council Foundation board of trustees.

Thompson is Chairman Emeritus of the International Food and Agricultural Trade Policy Council and formerly served on the USDA-USTR Agricultural Policy Advisory Committee for Trade. From 2011 to 2015 he was a Visiting Scholar at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, DC.

Previously Dr. Thompson served as Director of Rural Development and Senior Advisor for Rural Development at the World Bank (1998-2002); President and CEO of the Winrock International Institute for Agricultural Development (1993-98); Dean of Agriculture (1987-93) and Professor of Agricultural Economics (1974-93) at Purdue University; Assistant Secretary for Economics at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (1985-87) and Senior Staff Economist for Food and Agriculture at the President's Council of Economic Advisers (1983-85).

Thompson, who received his B.S. degree from Cornell University and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Purdue University, holds honorary doctorates from the Pennsylvania State University and Dalhousie University (Canada). He is a fellow of the American Agricultural Economics Association and the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry and of the Ukrainian Academy of Agricultural Sciences. He is a former president of the International Association of Agricultural Economists.

In January 2011 the American Farm Bureau Federation presented him with its highest honor, the Distinguished Service to Agriculture Award.

Raised on a small family dairy farm in northern New York State, Dr. Thompson has extensive international experience and has lectured, consulted, or conducted research in more than 90 countries worldwide, including extended periods in Denmark, Laos, and Brazil.

About Robert L. Thompson
Moderator
Wang Lei

Wang Lei 王镭

Director-General, Bureau of International Cooperation, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

Wang Lei 王镭

Wang Lei is the Director-General of the Bureau of International Cooperation of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. He obtained his M.A. degree in Public Policy and Administration at the Netherlands Institute of Social Studies, and Ph.D. degree in Economics at the Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. He is a Board Member of the Chinese Association of Friendship with Foreign Countries and a Board Member of the Chinese Association of European Studies as well as the Executive Director of the Silk Road Academy. He conducted research on European tax coordination in the context of European economic integration and the tax-related rules of WTO in the Faculty of Law under the Tilburg University of the Netherlands and in the European Tax College under the Leuven University of Belgium. The focus of his research is on China’s external economic relations covering issues of investment, trade and taxation.

About Wang Lei 王镭
cathiewoteki

Dr. Catherine E. Woteki

Distinguished Institute Professor with the Biocomplexity Institute at the University of Virginia

Dr. Catherine E. Woteki

Dr. Catherine E. Woteki is a Distinguished Institute Professor with the Biocomplexity Institute at the University of Virginia. Dr. Woteki is a well-respected scholar and a leader in science policy. She is known nationally and internationally for her wealth of knowledge of agriculture, food, nutrition and health from her years of leadership in government, industry and academia. She also is currently a Professor of Food Science and Human Nutrition at Iowa State University where she served as Dean of the College of Agriculture from 2002 to 2005.

Dr. Woteki was Undersecretary for United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Research, Education, and Economics (REE) mission area, as well as the department's chief scientist from 2010 to 2016. Her responsibilities included oversight of the four agencies that comprise REE, the Agricultural Research Service, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Economic Research Service, and National Agricultural Statistics Service, as well as the National Agriculture Library and National Arboretum.

She has held other prestigious positions, including Deputy Associate Director for Science in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) from 1994 to 1996. At OSTP, she co-authored the Clinton Administration's policy statement, Science in the National Interest. She also served as the first Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food Safety during the Clinton Administration, 1997-2001.

Dr. Woteki was director of the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine at the National Academy of Sciences from 1990 to 1993. During her tenure as director of the Food and Nutrition Board, she had direct responsibility for 27 studies and co-edited a nutrition book entitled Eat for Life, which became a Book-of-the-Month-Club selection. She has also held positions in the National Center for Health Statistics from 1983 to 1990 and the Human Nutrition Information Service at USDA from 1981 to 1983.

Dr. Woteki is the recipient of many awards for her contributions to science and society, and was inducted into the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, USDA, Hall of Fame in 2017.

About Dr. Catherine E. Woteki

Co-organizer

Rural Development Institute - Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

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