A short clip that took place at Gaosha Bayi Hope Primary School in Wuyuan of the Jiangxi Province went viral on the Internet. In the clip, students stared in bewilderment as the principal finished eating students' leftover noodles and deep-fried dough sticks from breakfast. We should save food and reduce waste regardless if there is a food crisis. However, finishing other people’s food scraps is very unhygienic and extremely revolting. It should never be promoted unless the food crisis is severe.

Has China really fallen into a severe food crisis? The state media was constantly reporting on China’s early rice harvest before Xi Jinping raised the issue of grain production and ordered the no waste campaign on Aug. 11. However, soon after Xi made his announcement, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences published a report that stated China may be faced with a food shortage of about 130 million tons by 2025. Governments of all levels introduced various “Clear your plate” measures including the “N-1 ordering mode” (where 10 diners only order a nine-person portion), the calling for professional orderers, the establishment of a reporting mechanism for wasteful behaviors, the set up of a blacklist system, the preparation by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPCSC) to push forward relevant legislation to regulate food conservation.

As a matter of fact, in the white paper “Food security in China” published by China’s State Council Information Office last October, it claimed that China’s total grain yield exceeded 650 million tons. “China accounts for nearly ⅕ of the world’s population and approximately ¼ of the global grain output. China is self-sufficient to feed its population, realizing the historic change from ‘not having enough to eat’ to ‘being fed well,’ in fact, ‘having plenty to eat’.” China’s per capita food consumption reached 400 kg in 2007 and 482 kg in 2015, far beyond the global average of 395 kg. Foreign research shows that China ranks 40th among 113 countries in the Global Food Security Index, which measures food security and the impact of resource risks. Accordingly, it is an overstatement to say that China is in a food crisis.

Clearly, with a growing economy and improving quality of life, China’s food demand is also constantly rising such that the self-sufficiency ratio dropped from 96% in 2013 to the forecasted 86.3% this year. Although food imports have increased year by year, there has never been a food crisis because the global market can meet China’s demands. On the other side of the coin, China implemented the strategy of going global as early as 2005. China’s agri-food companies, primarily state-owned companies, extensively rented and bought land and islands overseas. Moreover, they hired locals, even sent Chinese farmers to cultivate farming and cattle breeding. The products are then shipped back to China. Chinese companies have leased, purchased, or controlled farmland in Ukraine, Brazil, Russia, Kazakhstan, Australia and many African countries. The total area of hundreds of thousands of square kilometers of farmland has become an important supplement to the domestic food supply. China’s food self-sufficiency problem has also been resolved.

It can be said that in the first 30 years of reform, China sold products made by its world factories around the world and then used foreign exchange earned to buy oil, raw materials and food, producing a virtuous circle and enabling China to fully develop its economy without any worries. Other countries also reaped the benefits of China’s cheap labor, chasing China’s cheap products and willing to offer food and various resources in return, so that Chinese goods continue to be inexpensive and supplied to the world in large quantities.

However, when Xi Jinping took power, especially after he scrapped the two-term presidential limit, he constantly had to demonstrate the strength of the nation on all occasions. He strived for a greater voice in international affairs and put forward ambitious plans such as the Belt and Road Initiative. This poses a huge challenge to the leading position of the US, causing the US to be more wary of the rise of China. In addition, the China threat theory is very marketable in various countries and China’s relations with neighboring countries are deteriorating by the day. The turbulent relationship between China and the West, especially America, has made the external environment worse. The peaceful international environment that was conducive to China’s development has ended. Under this circumstance, can China still continue to exchange export goods for food and resources?

This is the fundamental reason why Xi Jinping single-handedly concocted the food crisis in China. Not only is the annual import of more than 100 million tons of food likely to be unsustainable, the transportation of oil and other raw materials is also in danger of being sealed off. Let’s not even mention the Chinese companies that have “gone global” are increasingly questioned and hindered. The audit issues and other problems for Huawei and other Chinese companies that are listed in the US are just the tip of an iceberg. Wang Yi and other senior government officials went to Europe in an attempt to convince the EU to join forces against the US, as well as to find a market for Huawei and other 5G technology companies. Instead, they encountered many difficulties and returned in vain, showing that it will be increasingly onerous for Chinese companies to expand in Europe and the US.

With all kinds of supply chains being cut off, Xi Jinping is humiliated. He can only abruptly sign a 25-year comprehensive partnership agreement with Iran to ensure oil supply, order the country to save food, and even use the dual circulation economy strategy to conceal the worsening external environment. However, which ignorant and arrogant decision-maker has made enemies everywhere at home and abroad? When you decide to abandon Deng Xiaoping’s “Hide your strength, bide your time” strategy and instead be aggressive, you should have planned for the worst.

(Poon Siu To, veteran journalist)

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