The United Nations and the Chinese government on Wednesday declared the establishment of the first office from the UN Secretariat in China at a brief agreement signing ceremony held in Bangkok.

The new headquarters for the Asian and Pacific Center for Agricultural Engineering and Machinery (APCAEM) under the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) is set to open in China's capital Beijing following the signing of the Host Country Headquarters Agreement between the Chinese government and the UNESCAP.

"The opening of the APCAEM office in Beijing will strengthen cooperation between the government of China and the UNESCAP, which has always been substantial," UNESCAP Executive Secretary Kim Hak-Su said at the signing ceremony.

He added that, "UNESCAP has its roots in China, since the then Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East was established in Shanghai back in 1947."

"The opening of APCAEM is significant for the improvement of international cooperation in the fields of agriculture technology, farm mechanization, food processing and biotechnology," said China's Permanent Representative to the UNESCAP Zhang Wanhai, who signed the agreement on behalf of the Chinese government.

He also said that the Chinese government welcomes more international organizations to set up their offices in China, which will benefit the development of related Chinese sectors and speed up China's process of opening up.

The APCAEM headquarters is located at the China International Science and Technology Convention Center in Beijing, "fully mechanized, modernized and high-tech," according to Kim.

He noted that, in addition to these office facilities, China also provided an additional 3.8 million US dollars in financial support.

The APCAEM aims to improve research and development of agriculture engineering and machinery and strengthen related cooperation in the region. It currently has 13 members, with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea becoming the 13th member in July 2003.

(Xinhua News Agency November 19, 2003)