China food security: corruption crackdown ensnares ex-chief of state grain reserves

Zhang Wufeng, former director of the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration, is under investigation by China’s anti-corruption agency

Zhang is the latest and by far the highest-ranking bureaucrat to be targeted in a nationwide corruption crackdown on China’s grain sector

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Zhang Wufeng, former director and Communist Party chief of the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration, is under corruption investigation. Photo: Weibo

Published: 10:30pm, 15 Jun 2022Updated: 11:05pm, 15 Jun 2022

The former gatekeeper of China’s formidable grain reserves is under investigation by the country’s anti-graft watchdog, in a sign that a sweeping corruption crackdown on the opaque and sprawling grain sector is reaching high into senior levels of government.

The announcement on Wednesday comes as Beijing puts increasing focus on food security amid warnings about a looming global food crisis following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Zhang Wufeng, who was until recently the director and Communist Party chief of the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration (NFSRA), is under disciplinary review and supervisory investigation on suspicion of committing “serious violations of discipline and the law” – a common euphemism for corruption.

The short statement, released by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) on Wednesday, did not elaborate on the accusations.

Zhang, 61, is the latest and by far the highest-ranking bureaucrat ensnared in a nationwide anti-corruption probe into China’s grain sector.

Beijing is pushing for more self-reliance in food production for its population of 1.4 billion and says national grain reserves are the “ballast stone” of food security.

The CCDI launched the campaign last August and it is accelerating in the lead up to the 20th national congress later this year.