American Soybean Association (ASA) Chairman Wade Cowan, of Brownfield, Texas, joined the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC) at the International Soybean Growers Alliance’s (ISGA) mission to Beijing, China in early April.

The purpose of the event was to talk about agriculture in the respective countries, as well as the valuable role biotechnology plays. China is a valuable trading partner, importing over 78 million metric tons (2014-15) with nearly 30 million metric tons coming from the United States.

“ISGA is a valuable resource for all of us in production agriculture. While we compete, and in fact complement each other in the world marketplace, we all face many of the same problems. By coming together and sharing ideas and working towards solutions, we all benefit,” Cowan said. “ISGA as an organization will continue to improve and get stronger and it’s great to see everyone working together on common goals, such as market access and biotech approvals.”

Over the course of the week, the delegation learned about China’s economic and political environment, held various meetings with industry partners and engaged with government officials regarding biotechnology approvals.

Delegates included participants from Brazil, Canada and the U.S. The mission concluded with a Soy Fair, where representatives from the delegation, ambassadors from Argentina, Canada and Uruguay and ag counselors engaged in dialogue with more than 100 key opinion leaders in China.

Along with Cowan, U.S. soybean farmers were represented by USSEC Chairman Laura Foell, USSEC CEO Jim Sutter and United Soybean Board (USB) Vice Chairman John Motter.