China can’t count on global markets for food security, Xi Jinping says
- The rice bowls of the Chinese people must be filled with Chinese grain, Chinese president tells national advisers
- He says the Chinese socialist system gives the country advantages, especially in contrast with the chaos in the West
Addressing national advisers in the agriculture, welfare and social security sectors on Sunday, Xi said there was no room for complacency in food security in the turbulent global climate and China could not rely on international markets.
“Vigilance in food security must not slacken, we must not think that food ceases being an issue after industrialisation, and we cannot count on international supplies to solve the problem.”
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“This [superiority] is even more evident when China’s governance is compared with the chaos in the West,” Xi said.
“We must plan ahead by adhering to the principles of domestic production and self-reliance while ensuring an appropriate level of imports and technology-backed development.”
He ordered cadres at all levels of the Communist Party to be responsible for maintaining food safety and stabilising domestic output of grain so that “the rice bowls of the Chinese people are filled with Chinese grain”.
Xi also said long-term goals included raising rural incomes, securing agricultural land and putting a stop to food waste.
He ordered the creation of a national food security production belt and construction of more irrigation and water conservation infrastructure.
The central government would closely monitor local officials and hold them accountable for life for ensuring a base level of safeguarded farmland, he said.
The self-sufficiency strategy would be backed by Chinese technology, including efforts to meet protein demands through plants and microorganisms.
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He also said party organisation, ideological education, the law and governance should be strengthened at the rural level, including efforts against organised crime and abuse of women and children.
Self-sufficiency was also on the agenda in the throes of the pandemic and changing international relations last year when Xi said it was a “strategic baseline” in terms of key commodities, such as agricultural products, minerals and energy.
Although known as the world’s factory and the globe’s biggest goods exporter, China increasingly relies on imports for a range of products vital to its economy, such as soybeans, iron ore, crude oil, natural gas, copper, bauxite and gold – sometimes for up to 80 per cent of supply.
It imported a record high 11.3 million tonnes of corn last year, while soybean imports, mainly from the United States, Brazil and Argentina, jumped 13.3 per cent year on year to 100.3 million tonnes, according to customs data.
