BEIJING, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Hui Liangyu Thursday proposed stepping up agricultural cooperation with Africa.

Addressing the closing ceremony of a China-Africa agriculture forum, Hui proposed enhanced exchanges among agricultural departments and improving the Sino-African agricultural cooperation mechanism.

He called for strengthened agricultural technological cooperation and an expansion in trade of primary products.

The Chinese government will continue to send agricultural experts and technicians to African countries to help spread and apply advanced agricultural technology, Hui said.

Chinawill also host agricultural experts and students from African countries for education or training, he added.

About 400 representatives from Chinese and African political parties, government departments and enterprises met attended the forum that began Wednesday.

Chinaand the African countries also issued the Beijing Declaration of China-Africa Agricultural Forum at the closing ceremony, highlighting the problem of food security.

Recognizing that food security is a serious challenge for the world, the declaration said the international community in general, and developed countries in particular, should pay more attention to food security in Africa and honor their aid and debt-relief commitments.

"We call upon developed countries to make more effort to help African countries realize the Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations," said the declaration.

African representatives attending the forum Thursday met with Liu Qi, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and chief of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee.

Jointly organized by the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Ministry of Agriculture, the forum focused on opportunities and challenges in China-Africa agricultural cooperation.