For decades, one of the most common mantras from China’s leadership has been to “firmly hold the rice bowls of the Chinese people in our own hands” — a principle that continues to shape the Communist Party’s five-year plans.
In the current blueprint, the 14th five-year plan (2021-2025), policymakers have prioritised food security, alongside energy and finance, as one of three areas to enhance national economic security.
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China has stabilised and elevated grain production to record levels over the past five years through heavy investments in agricultural technology and fierce protection of farmland, according to official figures.
China’s animal feed industry remains heavily dependent on imported soybeans but has yet to make any bulk orders from this season’s U.S. crop. Washington, meanwhile, faces mounting pressure from American farmers to quickly strike a trade deal that would resume normal sales.
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Chinese agricultural scientists have already developed several promising varieties of higher-protein corn to replace soybeans in animal feed as part of Beijing’s efforts to reduce its reliance on imports, according to the president of the Huazhong Agricultural University.
