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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Robert Lighthizer, the U.S. Trade Representative under Donald Trump, reflects on his decision to launch the trade war with China and begin the process of "strategic decoupling" — a process he says the U.S. must see through to the end.
