Delivering as One, a UN in China conversation presented by Resident Coordinator Siddharth Chatterjee: Episode 17 with Yutong Li, Head of CSAM

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In this episode of the UN in China podcast, UN Resident Coordinator in China Siddharth Chatterjee sits down with Dr. Yutong Li, Head of the Centre for Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization (CSAM) of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).

Dr. Li, a Chinese national, was raised by parents with defence and entrepreneurial backgrounds. She went on to study public administration and economics at Duke University in the United States, as well as English and agriculture at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada. Later, she gained a doctorate in Agricultural Economics from China Agricultural University.

In the past, Dr. Li worked for the Hubei Provincial Department of Agriculture, supporting their international agriculture cooperation and aid efforts. She would later join China’s then-Ministry of Agriculture, holding the positions of Liaison Officer and Director with a focus on trade. She would also go on to work on school feeding projects at the Headquarters of the World Food Programme in Rome, Italy, where she was dispatched for field missions to Laos, Egypt, Greece, India and China. After being encouraged to join a competitive recruitment process, she moved to her current role at CSAM, joining the UN family in China in 2016.

“All the UN agencies should have common actions on the SDGs,”

In this episode, Dr. Li outlines the history, mission and work of CSAM. Headquartered in Beijing, CSAM is a regional institution that serves the 62 members and associate members of ESCAP. With a focus on helping members achieve production gains, improve rural livelihoods and poverty reduction through sustainable agricultural mechanization, CSAM sets out to function as a regional platform for regular dialogue, an information and knowledge sharing hub for agricultural mechanization, a centre for capacity building, and a facilitator for regional agro-business development.

During the conversation, Dr. Li highlighted CSAM’s work to encourage smallholder farmers, academics, engineers, and leaders of cooperatives, among other stakeholders, to engage in agricultural mechanization issues such as food security and climate-smart agriculture. Alongside its work to engage with more women farmers and women engineers, as well as young people, CSAM undertakes several projects across the region to tackle issues such as the burning of straw residue in countries such as Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Nepal and Viet Nam.

Together with the Resident Coordinator, the two discuss other challenges and opportunities in the years ahead, particularly in the area of South-South cooperation, as well as CSAM’s work to leave no one behind and contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, as part of the UN system in China. 

Yutong Li

Dr. Li Yutong is currently the Head of the Centre for Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization (CSAM) of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). 

Dr. Li Yutong has more than 25 years of working experience in the fields of agricultural economy, trade and investment, and food safety, and has worked in government, United Nations agencies and other departments. She has been deeply involved in developing China’s agricultural trade policy on International Cooperation of the Ministry of Agriculture, as well as the Mid to Long-term Development Plan formulation, resource mobilization, formulation of budget plan on agricultural international cooperation. She was also involved in WTO agricultural negotiation as well as Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Negotiations, she has attended over 132 meetings of negotiations for 16 FTAs, such as China-ASEAN, ASEAN “10+6” (RCEP), China-Pakistan, China-ROK, China-New Zealand FTAs. 

Dr. Li holds a PhD in Agricultural Economics and Management from China Agricultural University. Her research interests include agricultural development, agricultural policy making, policy research and analysis, and international cooperation.

Siddharth Chatterjee 

Siddharth Chatterjee took office as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in China on 16 January 2021 and is the designated representative of - and reports to - the UN Secretary-General. He presented his letter of credence to the President of China on 14 April 2021.

Mr. Chatterjee has more than 25 years of experience in international cooperation, sustainable development, humanitarian coordination and peace and security in the United Nations and the Red Cross movement. He has served in many fragile and war-torn countries all over the world. A 3 times TEDx speaker, he is a regular opinion contributor on humanitarian and development issues for a range of journals, which includes Newsweek, Los Angeles Times, Reuters, Huffington Post, Forbes, CNN, Al Jazeera, the Guardian and, as of late, has also published in mainstream Chinese journals.

Mr. Chatterjee holds a master’s degree in public policy from Princeton University in the United States of America.