On 29–30 July 2026, at the invitation of Academician Zhanyuan Lu, President of Inner Mongolia Academy of Agricultural & Animal Husbandry Sciences, Prof. Duihu Ning, President of WASWAC, led a delegation including Prof. Pengfei Du, Executive Deputy Secretary-General, Prof. Liqin Qu and Dr. Ying Zhao to Hohhot for academic exchanges. Centering on dry-farming, soil and water conservation, ecological agriculture and sustainable agricultural development, the team conducted field visits at research bases, held symposiums and gave presentations, to promote collaborative innovation between WASWAC and local research institutes.

On 29 July, accompanied by Prof. Ju Zhao, Vice-President of the Academy, Prof. Xingfu Zhang and Prof. Yahong Liu, Directors of the Center for Comprehensive Test and Demonstration, the delegation toured the Wuchuan Dry-Farming Experimental Station and the Siziwang Research Base. They viewed dry-farming technology demonstrations, experimental facilities for grassland and farmland soil and water conservation, and germplasm resource cultivation of xeric forage for desert steppes. The delegation gained insights into local agricultural conditions, research layouts and practical ecological protection challenges across the arid and semi-arid regions of Inner Mongolia.

On 30 July, the WASWAC delegation visited the Academy history exhibition hall to learn about the development history, disciplinary layout and research achievements of the Academy. And they held a symposium with key researchers from different departments.

Academician Zhanyuan Lu gave an overview of the Academy, summarized progress made in agricultural animal husbandry development and ecological protection across Inner Mongolia, and highlighted practical needs and work priorities for promoting ecological agriculture and advancing sustainable agricultural development in the region.

Prof. Ning briefed the participants on the structure, operational activities and academic platform development of WASWAC. He noted that Inner Mongolia constitutes a key component of China’s northern ecological security barrier. Great challenges remain for soil and water conservation in dry-farmland and grassland ecosystems. WASWAC looks forward to further communication with the Academy. Practical cooperation will be expanded in scientific research to joint projects, academic output and talent exchange, to jointly support ecological protection and high quality agricultural development in northern China. Participants had thorough exchanges on regional soil erosion prevention and control, degraded land rehabilitation, and technical models for ecological agriculture.

Then, the WASWAC delegation delivered 4 presentations to young researchers at the Academy. Prof. Ning presented a report titled Soil Erosion in China and Discussion on Current Research Priorities, analyzing the status of soil erosion in China and cutting edge research directions. Prof. Du shared experiences on gully erosion control in black soil regions of China and practical practices for black land erosion management. Prof. Qu addressed academic writing, standards, ideas and methods for preparing scientific manuscripts. Dr. Zhao discussed frequent problems with figures and tables in academic manuscripts, and shared best practices for figure table making and standard formatting. These reports covered broad research trends, regional governance practices and practical skills for paper preparation. Young researchers asked many questions and gave positive feedback.

Moving forward, WASWAC will continue to leverage its academic platform to strengthen cooperation with research institutions, to integrate research resources and promote academic exchange, and to provide professional support for regional ecological conservation and sustainable agricultural development.