[China][US]How China and the United States can work together on food security
Li Zheng, Assistant Researcher, Institute of American Studies, China Institute of Modern International Relations
Food security is becoming a prominent issue in international politics due to a combination of factors. Both China and the United States have significant interests in this area.
Since 2020, global food prices have continued to rise and the risk of food supply shortages has emerged. Observers say the world is on the verge of another food crisis on a global scale since 2010. This time the crisis is a combination of multiple cyclical factors, short-term emergencies and long-term structural factors, and is even more severe than in 2010.
In terms of cyclical factors, the frequency of climate extremes brought about by climate change has once again hit the world's major food-producing regions. The ongoing drought in the western and south-western United States affected the wheat harvest in the main production areas. Extreme weather also reduced domestic production in some countries with low food self-sufficiency, such as Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, increasing their import demand.
In terms of short-term contingencies, the Russia-Ukraine crisis had a knock-on effect. Russia and Ukraine are both major global exporters of food and fertilizer, and the prolongation of the conflict between the two countries is releasing increasingly large spillover effects. First, Russia and Ukraine's production capacity for food and fertiliser is restricted, further straining the supply of related commodities; second, US and Western sanctions have restricted Russian food and fertiliser exports for a long time, creating a huge artificial gap in global supply; third, US and Western financial sanctions against Russia have restricted its oil and gas exports, pushing up global energy prices. Food production and transport are closely linked to energy and chemicals and are extremely sensitive to energy prices.
In terms of long-term factors, tight food supplies are linked to the global energy transition. In order to meet emissions reduction targets, countries are investing more in new energy sources, but this process also has some implications for food production. For example, photovoltaic projects are potentially more profitable than crop cultivation and may crowd out farmland; crops such as maize may be more profitable for biofuel production under policy subsidies; carbon emissions from food and livestock production are at odds with national emissions reduction targets; and so on.
An increasing number of countries are beginning to focus on their own food security, and in turn are adopting food protectionist policies. According to statistics, more than 20 countries around the world have implemented food export restriction orders so far this year, including wheat, corn, vegetable oil and other major crops and manufactured products. Such policies have further increased fears in other food-importing countries and international food markets, while countries in Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia, which are highly dependent on food imports, are under greater pressure than other countries and may be at systemic risk.
Compared to other areas, China and the US have a more favourable environment for cooperation in food security.
On the one hand, China and the US have a mutually beneficial relationship in food trade, with China being the top agricultural export market for the US and bilateral agricultural trade between China and the US reaching a record US$46.4 billion in 2021. Food trade has now become one of the ballast stones of China-US trade and economy, and is a closer bond of interest between the two countries.
In September 2021, President Xi solemnly proposed a global development initiative during the general debate of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly, which included food security as one of the eight priority areas of cooperation. Both China and the US do not want to see a humanitarian crisis in developing countries due to famine.
Based on the above basis of cooperation and the current salience of food security, China and the United States could consider cooperation in the following areas.
First, we should jointly oppose the politicisation of food security issues and food protectionist policies.
Food is not only a commodity, but also one of the essential elements of human life. In order to ensure food security, countries should avoid using food as a target of international sanctions and as a diplomatic bargaining chip. China and the United States can explore cooperation in this area to promote food production and exports in major global food-producing countries and mitigate the impact of the Russia-Ukraine crisis on global food security. China and the US could consider raising a common voice on food security in international cooperation forums such as the G20, to bring food security into the perspective of global macro policy coordination.
Second, working together to maintain the security of food transport corridors and promote trade facilitation and non-discrimination.
China and the US both have significant interests in international trade in food and can consider strengthening cooperation to ensure that international food routes are safe and secure at all times. China and the US could promote food trade facilitation measures at the WTO to further reduce food losses in the trade process.
Finally, we should advocate for greater investment in agricultural technology and technology sharing to strengthen the capacity of developing countries to respond to agricultural disasters.
Advances in agricultural technology are the main way to alleviate the continuing tension in global food supply. With the exception of a few Western countries such as the United States and France, all other major food-producing regions in the world are located in developing countries, which have limited technical capacity to deal with natural disasters, pests and diseases, and declining land fertility. Food security in the transition period.