The South-South Cooperation (SSC) Programme with China is part of FAO's SSC Initiative under the framework of the Special Programme for Food Security designed to improve food security within poor households through National and Regional Programmes for Food Security.

Since the SSC Initiative was launched by FAO in 1996, China has always been actively involved and played a very important leading role in the SSC. To date, China has dispatched more than 1000 Chinese experts and technicians, through FAO, to Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and the South Pacific.

In May 2006, FAO signed a Letter of Intent with the Government of China on forming Strategic Alliance to improve the world food security. China intended to provide at least 3,000 experts and technicians over a period of six years to work and improve the productivity of small-scale farmers and fishermen in developing countries.

In September 2008, China announced to contribute USD30 million Trust Fund to FAO to support SSC. The General Agreement of establishing the China/FAO Trust Fund was signed in Beijing on 24 March 2009, which also marked China’s entry into FAO’s donor community.

The technical assistance provided under FAO implemented SSC Programme has enhanced an effective solidarity among developing countries and allowed the recipient countries to benefit from relevant experiences and expertise in food and agricultural production of China. In the meantime, FAO has been organizing specialized training courses in China for the capacity building of participants from other developing countries, as well as assisting the selected Chinese institutions to develop an effective institutional management framework and human resource capacities geared towards establishing the reputable and recognized International Agriculture Training Centers in China.

Building on the successful achievements of the FAO-China SSC Programme, the Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, during his visit to the FAO Headquarters in Rome on 15 October 2014, emphasized that China is willing to continue strengthening of sharing agricultural technologies, experience and development solutions with other developing countries. He also announced a USD50 million donation to FAO in support of the SSC Programme to improve food security and promote sustainable agricultural development over the next five years.

FAO and China will consistently make joint efforts in up-scaling, expanding and diversifying the development of SSC in the future.