As the birthplace of higher education in agricultural machinery in New China and a pioneer in the global expansion of Chinese agricultural machinery, Jiangsu University has focused on agricultural engineering for more than 60 years. Guided by the principles of talent cultivation, technological innovation, international cooperation, and industrial outreach, the university has built a complete ecosystem of “talent training, technology research and development, standards export, industrial expansion.” It has contributed “Jiangsu University wisdom” and “Chinese solutions” to the Belt and Road Initiative and to the Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative, Global Civilization Initiative, and Global Governance Initiative proposed by President Xi Jinping.
I. Historical Perspective: Pioneering China’s Agricultural Machinery Going Global and Building the Historical Foundation for the Global Development Initiative
1. Dual Sources of International Wisdom:
In 1945, the first group of agricultural engineering experts represented by Gao Liangrun returned from the United States, bringing advanced Western agricultural engineering concepts. Beginning in 1956, Soviet experts such as Nikolayev guided teaching and scientific research, forming an international educational model that combined returning Chinese experts, Soviet guidance, and Sino-Soviet cooperation.
2. Earliest Foreign Agricultural Machinery Training:
In 1980, the university hosted the Asia-Pacific Agricultural Machinery Training Course. Since 1983, it has continuously conducted training programs entrusted by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). By 1994, it had trained 131 key personnel from 39 countries. Over more than 40 years, the university has trained more than 1,750 agricultural machinery professionals from over 50 Belt and Road partner countries, becoming one of China’s earliest windows for international technology cooperation. During the pandemic, the university and Lovol Heavy Industry jointly conducted online guidance sessions for agricultural recovery in Zambia, which were reported by China Global Television Network and CCTV News.
II. Technological Perspective: Breaking Through Core Technologies and Safeguarding Global Food Security
1. International Platforms and Technological Breakthroughs:
Jiangsu University’s agricultural engineering discipline ranks among the top in China. Four disciplines, including Agricultural Science and Engineering, rank among the top 0.1% globally in ESI. The university has established several international research platforms and, together with Wode Agricultural Machinery and Guangxi Yuchai, developed the world’s first agricultural machinery hybrid electric continuously variable transmission (eCVT) powertrain. The technology improves operating efficiency by 15–35% and reduces fuel consumption by more than 30%.
The university and Jiangsu Wode Agricultural Machinery Co., Ltd. jointly developed a ratoon rice combine harvester whose intelligent cutting platform reduces crushing losses by more than 40%. Their crawler rice combine harvesters hold market shares of 82% in Indonesia, 80% in Sri Lanka, and 60% in India, breaking the long-standing monopoly of Japanese brands. They also jointly developed a fully automatic vegetable transplanter integrating seedling tray movement, seedling extraction, and planting functions.
2. Commercialization and International Applications:
The university ranks first among Chinese universities in agricultural machinery for national technological invention awards, scientific and technological progress awards, and patent commercialization. It has developed 26 types of advanced equipment, including autonomous combine harvesters, with 13 achievements reaching internationally leading levels.
The technologies have been applied in water conservancy projects in the UAE and agricultural mechanization projects in Thailand. The university also assists Wode Agricultural Machinery in establishing factories in Thailand, Uzbekistan, and India, shortening supply chains and expanding overseas investment.
III. Education and Talent Development: Building Bridges Between Peoples and Cultures
1. High-Quality International Student Education:
The university has educated more than 10,000 international students from 159 countries. During the 2024–2025 academic year, it enrolled 2,927 international students, 80% of whom came from Belt and Road countries, and 60% studied agriculture or engineering. Graduate students accounted for 58.01%.
Many graduates have become leaders in their home countries, including presidents of several universities in Ghana and executives in agricultural enterprises in Zambia, promoting cooperation between Chinese agricultural machinery companies and their home countries.
2. Internationalized Faculty and Innovative Teaching:
A total of 46.6% of full-time faculty members have more than six months of overseas experience. The university has developed a training model combining classroom teaching, factory internships, and field practice, published 13 English-language textbooks, and integrated Chinese agricultural machinery standards and technologies into its curriculum.
IV. Global Governance: Exporting Chinese Standards and Systems
1. Comprehensive Cooperation with International Organizations:
Jiangsu University is the only Chinese university that has signed memoranda of understanding with both ESCAP and UNIDO. It has established the UNIDO Global Agricultural Modernization and Food Security Education and Training Center and has undertaken numerous international agricultural assistance projects, receiving high recognition from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP).
2. Platform and Alliance Leadership:
The university has established strategic partnerships with 265 universities in 65 countries and, together with 50 agricultural universities worldwide, founded the International Alliance of Agricultural Engineering Universities and the International Agricultural Equipment Capacity Cooperation Alliance. It has developed an integrated model combining standards, testing, certification, training, and after-sales service, helping more than 200 enterprises expand into over 30 countries.
V. Belt and Road Initiative and Global South Cooperation
1. Smart Agriculture Benchmark in Central and Eastern Europe:
The university led the establishment of the China–Bosnia and Herzegovina Belt and Road Joint Laboratory for Smart Agricultural Technology and Equipment. Together with industry partners, it developed small and medium-sized agricultural machinery and agricultural big-data platforms suitable for local conditions and trained more than 100 technicians, benefiting 11 countries including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and Bulgaria.
2. Agricultural Revitalization Practices in Global South Countries:
The university and its partners have established international demonstration centers for agricultural modernization in Ghana, Pakistan, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. In Zambia, it implemented agricultural mechanization assistance projects that improved the efficiency of corn and wheat production. In Uzbekistan, it cooperated on cotton harvesting machinery, increasing mechanized harvesting rates from zero to 15%.
Through international cooperation among governments, industries, universities, and research institutions, Wode Agricultural Machinery’s export value exceeded US$600 million in 2025, representing year-on-year growth of 100%.
Conclusion: Reaching New Heights in Global Agricultural Cooperation Through World-Class Development
Jiangsu University’s experience in expanding Chinese agricultural machinery internationally represents an outstanding example of how Chinese universities can serve national strategies and participate in global governance. From historical foundations to technological innovation and talent cultivation, the university’s unique strengths have supported the development of world-class agricultural engineering and demonstrated the profound significance of the Global Development, Security, Civilization, and Governance Initiatives.
In the future, Jiangsu University will continue to promote Chinese intelligent manufacturing in agricultural machinery and contribute even more to building a community with a shared future for mankind and advancing global agricultural modernization.
