The impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is already rippling through China’s economic and political system. One notable effect: A new threat to the country’s food security. Ukraine, sometimes referred to as the world’s bread basket, is a top supplier of corn and barley to China.
For Beijing, the current situation is further proof of the risks in relying on foreign countries to feed its enormous population, following on from the U.S.-China trade war and the hit to its imports of products like American-grown soybeans. As Xi Jinping said, “food security is an important foundation for national security.”
The government’s concerns are translating into a change in its attitude towards both genetically-edited and genetically modified organisms (GMOs), both of which are used around the world to improve crop yields. Beijing has long maintained very limiting policies towards GMOs, largely due to public opposition to the technology. But over the last year, regula
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When China announced it was ending quarantine requirements for incoming travelers, Chinese people collectively picked up their phones to search popular travel apps like Ctrip and Qunar. Owned by travel giant Trip.com, these apps helped Chinese travelers explore the world pre-pandemic and facilitated the human-to-human interactions that drove China's rise. But many of today's travelers seem to be sticking closer to home, and their hesitation to get back to the jetsetting habits of the past 20 years has far-reaching implications — especially for Trip.com.
The professor talks about China's real estate bubble; if China can develop a modern financial system without rule of law; and why it's not China that is reshaping the global order, but the world's response...