China, Europe can look past disputes to cultivate food trade, EU agriculture commissioner says

Name: Why is the Chinese government so concerned about food security?
Uploaded: 2024-04-23T13:00:50.000Z
Duration: 7 min 58 s
Description: Why is the Chinese government so concerned about food security?

EU’s agriculture commissioner says China, Europe can expand food trade despite disagreements over other sectors

Though EU probes are under way in industries like electric vehicles, commissioner wants increased connectivity, particularly purchases from Ukraine

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The EU agriculture commissioner has encouraged China and Europe to step up their food trade, particularly in purchases from Ukraine. Photo: AP

Mandy Zuoin Shanghai

Published: 9:00pm, 23 Apr 2024

Despite souring relations, there is still great potential for China and the European Union to boost their agri-food trade, the EU’s chief agricultural official said while urging Beijing to increase its purchases from Ukraine.

Janusz Wojciechowski, the EU agriculture commissioner, said on Monday that he intends to reduce trade barriers and encourages both sides to remain open to each other’s agricultural products even as other industries grow fractious, most notably electric vehicles.

“Food products should be excluded from problems in other sectors. Open food trade is very important for food security at the global level,” he said in an interview with the Post in Shanghai.

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Why is the Chinese government so concerned about food security?

The visit was made in an environment of tense trade relations following EU anti-subsidy probes into several of China’s exports, including electric vehicles and wind turbines. China has responded with its own investigation into imported brandy.

Leading a delegation of over 70 business representatives from the agri-food sector, the largest in his tenure, Wojciechowski said the size of the entourage “shows how important China is as our trade partner”.

While China exports a large volume of goods to Europe, such as solar panels and new energy vehicles, the EU has a significant trade surplus when it comes to the agri-food sector.

China is the third-largest destination for food from the EU and the fifth-largest source of the EU’s food imports, according to 2022 figures from the European Commission.