China's International Food Policy
Hungry China – How to explain China’s changing international food policy
Ever tried to buy milk powder at a German drug store? There is a good possibility that you found empty shelves and signs with announcements like “only three packages per person”. The reason behind this is an increasing import trade between Chinese living in Germany and their relatives in the People’s Republic of China who are looking for safe milk products to nourish their babies.
What looks like an individual aspect of globalization, is only the tip of the iceberg of an increasing internationalization of Chinese food policy. Rising Chinese imports of land-intensive products such as soybeans, investments in international agribusinesses (e.g. the acquisition of Swiss company Syngenta by ChemChina) and lending of large areas of land in Africa and South-America are clear indications that China is continuously integrating more in the global market of food and agriculture.
In the course of my PhD, I am analyzing how politically coordinated this integration is as well as its underlying institutional principles. Throughout history, guaranteeing food safety and security has been a sensitive topic to Chinese politicians as it is closely related to political legitimacy.
Analyzing changes in Chinese food policy, not only provides new and fascinating insights into China’s economic transformation from a developing country to an industrial power, but also offers the unique potential, to reveal mechanisms of societal influence on economic policy making in an authoritarian state.