JINAN, April 6 (Xinhua) — Outside the workshop of Lisente Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd. in Shouguang, east China’s Shandong Province, steel frames for greenhouse sheds were hoisted precisely onto trucks, ready for delivery to Uzbekistan.
“Once these steel frames arrive, they will be assembled into greenhouse sheds, allowing vegetables and fruits to be grown even in the desert,” said Wang Shoubo, chairman of the company.
Known as the “hometown of vegetables in China” and the birthplace of winter warm greenhouses, Shouguang takes facility agriculture as one of its most distinctive calling cards.
The tech-savvy cultivation methods used in these greenhouses, such as automatic temperature control, intelligent irrigation and data monitoring, are evolving into a standardized system. This system provides integrated solutions for facility agriculture, which are being implemented across China and taking root in various parts of the world.
“Going global is not about simply copying Shouguang’s greenhouses. It is about adapting to local conditions,” Wang noted.
In the process of taking agricultural technology overseas, enterprises are exploring and advancing step by step, providing “localized and adapted” solutions to overseas clients.
Central Asia has a hot climate, so greenhouses with full top ventilation are needed. In contrast, traditional Chinese greenhouses mostly have side ventilation, which would lead to insufficient air circulation in Central Asia. Wang led his team to adjust the design to meet local needs, thereby optimizing the effectiveness.
In Guinea, considering the local conditions of high temperatures, abundant rainfall and high electricity costs, the team transformed traditional solar greenhouses into “double-slope greenhouses” with double-sided shading and no rear walls. They replaced electric equipment with manually operated gear and pulley structures, achieving both cooling and rain protection while cutting costs. The project quickly expanded to over 1,000 mu (66.67 hectares).
Lisente has completed more than 270 projects in over 40 countries, upgrading from simply building greenhouses to delivering full industrial chain services, including park planning, seedling cultivation and technical guidance. Currently, more than 30 enterprises and cooperatives from Shouguang have expanded their businesses overseas, establishing over 300 cultivation parks in this process.
This year marks the start of the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), during which China is more proactively expanding high-standard opening up, with agricultural cooperation being a key aspect.
The globalization of agricultural technology and international cooperation are bringing new opportunities. On the outskirts of Bucharest, capital of Romania, horticultural engineer Bogdan Ilie opened the door to a Chinese smart greenhouse to tend to the vegetables and fruits inside.
He said he can grow tropical crops in this greenhouse even in the coldest seasons.
This uniquely shaped, chimney-style double-layer tunnel greenhouse was introduced to Romania by Luan Hongyun, a post-90s young farmer from Shouguang. With the support of experts from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, his “science and technology backyard” has successfully launched a smart greenhouse product integrating dozens of patents.
The wall thickness has been reduced from seven or eight meters to 50 centimeters, the graphene heat collection system enables “zero-energy” survival in severe cold, and water and fertilizer regulation can be done with a single tap on a mobile phone. Now, his smart greenhouses and supporting technologies are exported to over 30 countries.
From selling products to full-chain empowerment, China’s agricultural technology is making a leap forward in going global. Behind this is China’s determination and perseverance in delving deep into agricultural technology.
Initiated by Zhang Fusuo, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a professor at China Agricultural University, the Science and Technology Backyard (STB) Project has, over 16 years, grown into a vast “forest for rural vitalization” with more than 5,000 backyards across the country. Over 200 universities nationwide have participated, with more than 10,000 graduate students taking root in production frontlines to serve many Chinese farmers like Luan.
Beyond its establishment in China’s vast rural areas, the STB is also committed to aiding global agricultural development and nurturing more young people to become builders of global agricultural modernization. At an international STB forum held earlier this year, Zhang showed a set of photos: African farmers celebrating a bumper harvest of corn, soybean seedlings swaying like green waves in Zambian experimental fields, and small combine harvesters replacing manual labor in rice fields in northeastern Brazil.
Meanwhile, the STB global center in south China’s Hainan Free Trade Port is gaining momentum. It aims to build the project into an exemplary international agricultural cooperation network based on the tropical island of Hainan, connecting the Global South, and integrating technology research and development, talent cultivation and industrial collaboration.
