The Best Way to Put Food on China's Table

Securing food supplies has always been at the core of China's economic policymaking, and the government seems to have equated the goal with ensuring domestic supplies can sufficiently meet demand.

For years, Beijing has repeatedly said the country must produce at least 95 percent of the food it needs. It has recently changed its tone a bit, shifting emphasis to ensuring food security without emphasizing where the edibles come from. This is partly because imports have continued growing despite greater domestic output.