On May 8–9, 2025, the Annual Meeting of the Joint Management Committee of the PhD Program in Agronomy and Bioengineering between Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (GSCAAS) and University of Liège, Belgium (the China-Belgium Program) was held in Beijing. The meeting reviewed and adopted the admission list of new students for the 2025 batch, summarized and exchanged progress of the China-Belgium Program, as well as formulated the work plan for the next stage.

The meeting was co-chaired by Prof. Jiang Meilin, Secretary of the Party Committee of GSCAAS and Chinese Chair of the Program Committee, and Prof. Frederic Francis, Dean of Gembloux Agro‑Bio Tech, University of Liège, and vice chair of the Belgian program committee. More than 30 people attended the meeting, including members of the Joint Management Committee, leading officials of participating institutions, representatives of Chinese and foreign supervisors as well as administrative staff.

During their stay in China, Belgian representatives visited the experimental facilities of the Institute of Urban Agriculture, the Biogas Institute of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Institute of Plant Protection, the Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, the Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, and the Institute of Food Science and Technology. The two sides discussed directions for talent training, academic exchanges and future research cooperation of the program.

As the first Sino-foreign cooperative PhD program in agriculture in China, the China-Belgium Program has enrolled a total of 258 students with 120 graduates since 2013. More than 94% of its graduates are employed by domestic universities and research institutions, achieving remarkable educational results and high social recognition. In 2024, the program was selected as a case of effective talent training for Sino-foreign cooperative programs by Department of International Cooperation and Exchanges, Ministry of Education of China.