With the International Conference on Food Loss and Waste closed on Saturday in Jinan, Shandong Province, the country has sent a signal to     1     world that China will deal with issues concerning food security by reducing loss and waste in agriculture. With the theme of reducing food loss and food waste and promoting     2     (globe) food security, the three-day event     3     (hold) both online and offline attracted more than 300 participants.

The current world grain production is about 2.8 billion tons a year. Therefore, the loss of only one percentage     4     (be) equal to the loss of 28 million tons of food. This can feed about 70 million people.

In recent years, China     5     (make) great progress in controlling loss and waste in food, with main efforts including upgrading facilities and     6     (equip). In Shandong Province, China’s major grain producer, the Sinograin (中粮集团) grain storage site is equipped with 4,500 high-definition cameras and 280,000 temperature sensors     7     (ensure) that the stock (储备) is in the best condition. Data shows that during China’s 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020) , about 13 million tons of food had been saved     8     (year) after production.

We cannot end hunger     9     we do not deal with the high levels of food loss and waste. Cooperation and innovations (创新) in business models, technologies and digital solutions could all contribute     10     reducing food loss and waste.

2 . Under the background of the slow growth of its total population to 1.44 billion, China has seen a sharp rise in older adults over the past decade, solidifying the country’s rapidly aging pattern, the latest national census (人口普查) data shows. The population on the Chinese mainland increased by an average of 0.53 percent annually during the past 10 years to 1.41 billion, compared with an annual growth rate of 0.57 percent from 2000 to 2010, according to the 7th national census published by the National Bureau of Statistics.

“The growth of the total population has slowed down but remains at a steady pace,” Ning Jizhe, head of the bureau, said at a news conference. “Based on trends in recent years, China’s population will grow at an increasingly slow rate in the future while remaining above 1.4 billion.” The increasing elderly population has become a defining feature of the past decade.

Ning said an aging society will set the tone for China's population structure for a long time, presenting challenges and opportunities. “A graying population will pile pressure on supply of labor force and social services, as well as adding to families’ elderly care burden. But more elderly people could also motivate consumption of products and services targeting this age group, and advance the development of some technologies,” he said.

Ning added that those between the ages of 60 and 69, who are equipped with knowledge, experience and skills and are generally in good health, make up nearly 56 percent of all older adults. “Their potential to continue making contributions to society and playing a constructive role is big,” he responded to a question on the outlook for raising the retirement age and carrying out other potential measures aimed at addressing the aging trend. Some population economists also said the latest number and proportion (比例) of elderly are largely within predictions, and the aging trend will continue for a long time.