An "International Fund for Agricultural Development - South-South Cooperation and Agricultural Investment Matchmaking Market" recently opened at the Beijing UN Building.

As a parallel event of the 2026 World Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Conference, the event was hosted by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), aiming to build a precise matchmaking platform for South-South cooperation and share China's county-level agricultural development experience.

More than 120 people attended the event, including ambassadors and counselors from embassies of 17 countries in China and representatives of 7 UN agencies in China.

As the only participating county-level city in Nanping City, Fujian Province, Songxi County appeared at the market under the theme of "Ecological Songxi · Premium Products Going South."

At the Songxi ecological agricultural products exhibition area, agricultural specialty products such as century-old sugarcane tea snacks, Huaqiao bitter bamboo shoots, Jiulong Dabai tea, green tea, black tea, and matcha were displayed together.

The Songxi delegation introduced to Chinese and foreign guests the growing environment, craft features, and brand advantages of the products, and shared the county-level practice of improving ecological agriculture quality and increasing value across the entire industrial chain.

Wu Wei, Secretary of the Songxi County Party Committee, said that selecting high-quality agricultural products for this exhibition is an important opportunity for Songxi to advance opening-up and exchanges and deepen international agricultural cooperation. Songxi will use this international platform to fully absorb advanced ideas and gather quality resources, continue to polish its ecological agriculture brand, and promote two-way empowerment between external exchanges and industrial upgrading.

Ama Brandford-Arthur visits the Songxi exhibition area. Ama Brandford-Arthur, IFAD Global South-South and Triangular Cooperation Coordinator, said after tasting century-old sugarcane tea snacks: "The sugarcane aroma is very special, and the more you chew, the sweeter it gets." She said that Songxi connects rare germplasm resources, traditional farming, and modern brand operations, allowing crops from the mountains to truly enter the market and drive the industry, which has reference value for countries in the Global South.

IFAD officials taste Songxi matcha. "Century-old sugarcane" comes from Wanqian Village, Zhengdun Town, Songxi County. It was first planted in 1727 during the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty, and its perennial roots have continued to sprout for nearly 300 years; Jiulong Dabai tea has prominent amino acid content and a unique flavor, while Huaqiao bitter bamboo shoots have a slight bitterness and a sweet aftertaste. "Songxi Jiulong Dabai Tea," "Songxi Green Tea," and "Songxi Black Tea" have obtained national geographical indication certification trademarks, and the "Songxi Bamboo Sugarcane Cultivation System" was selected as an important agricultural cultural heritage of China. In recent years, the local area has promoted value-added development across the entire chain of local specialties through standardized production and branded operations, allowing mountain goods to move from the fields to urban dining tables.

During the event, Chinese and foreign guests held in-depth discussions on cross-border trade of agricultural specialty products, mutual exchange of agricultural technology, and enhancement of the value chain of rural characteristic industries. The Songxi exhibition area became a focus of attention, with guests from many countries stopping to taste and praising the ecological agricultural products from the mountainous area of northern Fujian.

This appearance at the Beijing UN Building further expanded the international visibility of Songxi premium products, helped agricultural specialty products from the mountainous area of northern Fujian leave the mountain city and go global, and injected new momentum into the local agricultural brand building and long-term development.