BEIJING (Xinhua) -- A National Agricultural Innovation Alliance on Comprehensive Utilization of Saline Soil has been jointly launched by the Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and related units.

China is one of the countries facing the most dangerous level of salinization. In the "Central Document No. 1," the first policy statement issued by China's central authorities this year, China emphasized providing support for the conversion of suitable saline-soil land into farmland in an appropriate and orderly manner.

The alliance aims to accelerate scientific and technological innovation and comprehensive utilization of saline land, and fully develop the potential strength of agricultural production.

Liu Xianwu, vice-president of the academy, said the improvement and promotion utilization of these lands for agricultural purposes was making an outstanding contribution to China's growing wheat crop production.

Currently, the comprehensive utilization and ecological protection of saline land is facing a complicated situation, Liu said, calling on the alliance to lead related technological innovation, and make comprehensive plans for the high-quality development of modern agriculture on saline land.