The world is experiencing a global food crisis. According to the World Food Programme, as of June 2022, as many as 828 million people went to bed hungry every night. A total of 50 million people in 45 countries are teetering on the edge of famine. Additionally, domestic food price inflation remains high globally with record-high food prices driving millions more into extreme poverty, magnifying hunger and malnutrition. The number of acute food-insecure people increased to 345 million in 82 countries in 2022, a shocking jump from 135 million in 2019. This ongoing global food crisis is triggered and continues to be fuelled by several key factors, most notably climate shocks, armed conflicts, and government trade distorting policies.
Amid the worsening global food crisis, notwithstanding the domestic and international concerns regarding the country’s food security, the People’s Republic of China (China), the world’s second most populous country and largest food importer, has been relatively successful in terms of maintaining a stable food supply at the macro level
This chapter aims to provide a comprehensive assessment of the current status, policy responses, emerging challenges, and future prospects of China’s food security.
By Hongzhou Zhang, Genevieve Donnellon-May and Cecilia Tortajada, Chapter of the book: Food Security Issues in Asia, edited by Paul Teng, 2024, World Scientific, Singapore, pages 235–262. DOI: 10.1142/9789811278297_0009