Fishing in China mostly comes from aquaculture — farming fish in pens rather than catching them wild. Credit: Jan Christian-Teller, Creative Commons
Everywhere you look in the world of seafood, there’s China. It produces more than a third of the world’s seafood each year. It’s been the world’s largest exporter of seafood since 2002. And it’s also the largest consumer of seafood.
China's fishing industry is massive, and highly regulated. An estimated 14 million people work for its fisheries. Regulation of the seafood industry kicked off in 1986 with a law that concentrated much of the industry’s power into local governments. The government incentivizes fishing with subsidies for things like fuel. In 2018, China distributed $7.2 billion in fishing subsidies — more than any other country, and a fifth of all such subsidies globally.
But with the rapid expansion of fishing came controversy. After decades of overfishing, large Chinese trawlers now go beyond the country’s waters to look for seafood in open and sometimes contested waters, which creates conflicts with neighboring countries. And the fuel sub
Exclusive longform investigative journalism, Q&As, news and analysis, and data on Chinese business elites and corporations. We publish China scoops you won't find anywhere else.
A weekly curated reading list on China from David Barboza, Pulitzer Prize-winning former Shanghai correspondent for The New York Times.
A daily roundup of China finance, business and economics headlines.
We offer discounts for groups, institutions and students. Go to our Subscriptions page for details.
Why is one of Taiwan's largest media groups — Want Want China Times Media Group — spreading anti-U.S. rhetoric? Largely because its billionaire owner, Tsai Eng-meng, is known to sympathize with the Chinese Communist Party and favors unification with the mainland. Now, with Taiwan gearing up for a critical presidential election, Want Want’s efforts are picking up and helping to normalize CCP talking points.
A look at ZPMC: how it came to dominate ports around the world; its role in Chinese foreign policy; and the consequences of its links to the Chinese state.
The author and academic talks about how trade has actually changed over the last 40 years; why China's rise is linked to Asia's regionalization; and why international supply chains are efficient and resilient.
