China must beware ‘grey rhino’ of primary commodities shortage, top policymaker warns
- Scarcities in other countries remind China that primary commodities supply is a strategic issue, Han Wenxiu says as he discusses central economic work conference
- Stability is a stand-out theme in the 4,700-word statement issued after the conference, which sets the blueprint for the next year’s economic policies
Han Wenxiu, a deputy director of the Communist Party’s Central Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs, made the warning as he elaborated on decisions made in the three-day central economic work conference, which ended on Friday.
He said the shortages of these commodities faced by some countries this year highlighted that they could represent a “grey rhino” – an obvious yet ignored threat – to China, too.
“The shortage and chaos faced by some countries and regions earlier this year reminds us that [the supply of primary commodities] is a strategic issue related to the overall situation,” Han said at a forum in Beijing on Saturday. “Our country has a relatively high reliance on imports for primary commodities.
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“Some commodities, like petroleum, iron ore, copper and soybean, have a high reliance of 70 or even 80 per cent on imports.