China's Land Restoration Drive Marks Government Thinking Turnaround, Analysts Say

China's move to let 1 million acres of farmland lie fallow or put it under crop rotation is a sign that the country's pressing food-safety and environmental woes have become a higher priority on Beijing's agenda.

The country's unrestrained economic expansion of more than 30 years has been accompanied by a marked rise in pollution, desertification, water shortages and other environmental disasters that are posing serious threats to the food chain.