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Opinion
China’s next power move is as much in the fields as in factories
The attention to agriculture at China’s fourth plenum only reinforces a growing focus on food security as a policy priority
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Genevieve Donnellon-May is a geopolitical and global strategy adviser interested in regional resource conflict and environmental governance in Asia and Africa.
At last week’s fourth plenary session of the Central Committee of China’s Communist Party in Beijing, food emerged as a clear policy priority. The plenum’s communique highlighted the goal of accelerating China’s transformation into an agricultural power.
A leading agricultural producer and importer and a significant exporter, China is doubling down on its next agricultural milestone ahead of the official approval of the 15th five-year plan (2026-2030) early next year.
While detailed implementation plans are not yet public, this initiative builds on the 2022 Central Committee report to the party’s 20th National Congress, which for the first time set the goal of making China an agricultural powerhouse by mid-century. The 2023 “No 1 central document”, China’s annual rural policy blueprint, reaffirmed this ambition.
In April this year, the State Council released a plan for speeding up China’s transformation into an agricultural powerhouse, outlining key targets: by 2027, China wants to achieve significant progress in agricultural modernisation, and by 2050, become an agricultural power.
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