The Political Economy of Food Import and Self-reliance in China: 1949-2019

ABSTRACT China’s growing food imports have aroused anxiety over global food security. Paradoxically the country also maintains a policy of food self-sufficiency as the Chinese leadership reiterates that the country must “hold the rice bowl in its own hands.” Importing large volumes of food while emphasizing self-sufficiency poses a puzzle in understanding food politics in China. This paper examines political and economic forces behind the dual strategy, i.e. seeking food imports and emphasizing self-reliance. The underproduction crisis of food and the neoliberal globalization of the food supply have contributed to rising food imports, whereas the anxiety over national food sovereignty and the need to support rural livelihoods pull China toward food self-reliance. Using statistical and archival data, the paper reveals the critical conjunctures of food imports and self-reliance in China in the past seven decades and the contradictions within the dual food strategy.