Participants at a seminar held during the visit of Philip James Kear, chief scientist of the International Potato Center (CIP) -of China Center for Asia and the Pacific (CCCAP), to the CAAS Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning(IARRP) in Beijing on June 4.

Philip James Kear, chief scientist of the International Potato Center (CIP) -China Center for Asia and the Pacific (CCCAP), paid a visit to the Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning (IARRP) of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) in Beijing on June 4. Kear came at the invitation of a research group exploring agricultural distribution and regional development.

During his visit, Kear attended a seminar and presented research to personnel and graduate students at the IARRP of the CAAS,  the academic report, titled "A new era of CIP-China relations: genetics, genomics and great goals".

Kear briefed attendees on the history and achievements of the cooperation between the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research-CIP and Chinese research institutes, and explained the challenges faced for the global supply of potatoes and sweet potatoes in the sectors of plantation, storage and consumption.

He gave an analytical prediction of the development trend in the production of potatoes and sweet potatoes and  presented relevant research activities, as well as coming up with solutions to solve specific problems through cooperation.

He Yingbing, an associate researcher and academic supervisor for graduate students in the  IARRP, presided over the seminar.

He elaborated to attendees on the importance of the integration between genetic and plant growth modes and talked with Kear about the latest progress on a research program in Northeast China's Jilin province.

He and Kear agreed to jointly engage in the research program connected to the integration between genetic and plant growth modes and strengthen bilateral cooperation to further improve the capabilities of their research groups.

Kear graduated from Imperial College London with a master's degree and later received his doctoral degree at Cornell University in the United States. He has been committed to the research of biochemistry, molecular biology and the genomics of potatoes and sweet potatoes. In addition, he has played a major role in the studies of inter-specific incompatibility of wild potatoes and has published a number of academic papers in top international journals.