Trade conflicts could endanger China’s food security
December 3, 2019 Category China News Round-up, Weekly
The Chinese authorities are worried that global trade conflicts and climate change could endanger China’s food security. Last month the Chinese government published a policy paper on food security – the first in 23 years. It said that while the current food supply situation was “very sound” it also had concerns about potential disruptions due to trade friction with the U.S. Climate change is another worry for future food production.China’s devastating experiences with hunger and famine mean that the prospect of food shortages touches a raw nerve. “In the medium to long term, China’s grain production and demand will remain closely aligned, which means China must not slacken its efforts to ensure food security,” the paper said, adding that the “international food trade is being disrupted by protectionism and unilateralism and showing increasing instability.”
The worst outcome is that trade wars will raise uncertainty and delay investment, including in new farming technology, said David Laborde, Senior Research Fellow with the International Food Policy Research Institute. He said the economic and demographic pressures that would result from climate change meant the world needed more technological innovation, but if trade conflicts undermined research and investment, then the world could face food shortages and higher prices in 10 or 20 years’ time. A recent report by the United Nations said that climate change was causing loss of arable land and poses a threat to global crops. It added that the stability of food supply is also threatened by the expected increase in extreme weather.
The topic is part of the discussions at the COP25 climate summit in Madrid starting on December 2, which brings together governments from around the world, including China, to come up with means to tackle what is increasingly being termed a climate emergency. “High food prices are not a problem for the rich, but it is a big problem for the poor, and this could trigger political instability,” Laborde said.
Agricultural products are at the forefront of the U.S.-China trade dispute, as China is heavyly reliant on imports of animal-feed grains, especially soybeans. “Food security will be a paramount priority for China,” said Cheng Guoqiang, Food Security Adviser at the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) and Professor at Tongji University in Shanghai, as reported by the South China Morning Post.
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