Why is the import of agricultural products diversified in layout

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Party Central Committee has attached great importance to national food security and established a national food security strategy of "self centeredness, domestic foundation, ensuring production capacity, moderate imports, and technological support". General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that "we must play the card of agricultural product trade well, but the key is to control risks, be substitutable, and have backup measures, and implement a diversified strategy for agricultural product imports. The outline of the 15th Five Year Plan proposes to promote the diversification of agricultural product imports. These important statements and deployment requirements provide directional guidance for deepening international economic and trade cooperation in the field of agriculture and promoting the construction of a strong agricultural country in the future period. So, how to understand the significance of promoting the diversification of agricultural product imports? How to better promote the diversification of agricultural product imports and promote the coordination between trade and production?

Promoting the diversification of agricultural product imports is a strategic consideration for ensuring stable and secure supply of food and important agricultural products. China has a large population and limited land, and resource constraints are becoming increasingly tight. Important agricultural products such as soybeans, corn, and cotton have long had supply gaps, and moderate imports are an inevitable choice to ensure supply security. Currently, global geopolitical conflicts are intensifying, trade protectionism is on the rise, and extreme weather events are frequent, leading to increased pressure and risks in ensuring the supply of scarce agricultural products through imports. Promoting the diversification of agricultural product imports through diversified layouts of sources, varieties, and channels can help enhance the stability and risk resilience of the import supply chain, ensuring smooth channels, stable prices, and sufficient supply of grain and important agricultural products in complex international economic and trade situations.

Promoting the diversification of agricultural product imports is an important measure to comply with the trend of consumer upgrading and enhance people's well-being. The living standards of Chinese residents continue to improve, shifting from "eating enough" to "eating well" and "eating nutritious and healthy". The food consumption structure of urban and rural residents is constantly upgrading, and the production of high-quality and characteristic agricultural products in China is difficult to fully match the consumption needs of the people. Expanding the sources of imported agricultural products, enriching the variety of imported products, and continuously introducing high-quality and characteristic agricultural products from around the world will help effectively fill the domestic supply gap, better meet the needs of the people for a better life, and make the fruits of open development more accessible to all people.

Promoting the diversification of agricultural product imports demonstrates China's role in global agricultural cooperation. China is the world's second-largest importer of agricultural products, with a total import value of 207.4 billion US dollars by 2025, accounting for approximately 9% of global agricultural product imports and providing a vast market for many countries worldwide. Starting from May 1, 2026, China will grant zero tariff treatment to 53 African countries that have established diplomatic relations, including 100% tariff items such as agricultural products. African countries' advantageous agricultural products such as cocoa, coffee, avocados, etc. can enjoy zero tariffs under the premise of meeting relevant origin and inspection and quarantine requirements, benefiting a large number of small and medium-sized farmers and helping to promote the optimization of Africa's agricultural product export structure. China shares opportunities and develops together with African countries, demonstrating a good image of a responsible major country.

In recent years, with the implementation of the diversification strategy for agricultural product imports, the pattern of agricultural product imports in China has continued to optimize. The number of importing countries and regions has expanded from 169 in 2001 to 194 by 2025; The proportion of agricultural products imported from the top ten countries and regions has decreased from 74.8% in 2001 to 69.1% in 2025. However, it should also be noted that the import of important agricultural products such as soybeans, corn, cotton, and edible oil still relies heavily on a few markets, and promoting the diversification of agricultural product imports is a long and arduous task.

Next, we should better leverage the potential and role of China as the world's largest market, optimize import sources and variety structure, and create a more resilient global agricultural product supply system. At the same time, we must resolutely implement the overall national security concept, scientifically grasp the scale and pace of imports, promote the diversification of agricultural product imports and the benign interaction of industrial security, and hold the "Chinese rice bowl" more firmly and steadily.

Expand the sources of imports. We will deepen high-quality economic and trade cooperation to jointly build the "the Belt and Road", make full use of the multilateral and bilateral economic and trade cooperation mechanism, consolidate and expand the scale of agricultural imports from ASEAN and other neighboring countries, moderately expand the import of high-quality agricultural products with characteristics from Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and other regions, and build a more balanced and diversified import pattern. Expand the global network of high standard free trade zones, promote the signing of free trade agreements with countries and regions with complementary agricultural resource endowments and great potential for cooperation, establish closer agricultural economic and trade relations, and stabilize the import supply chain of important agricultural products. Continuously promote the upgrading of China ASEAN Free Trade Agreement, Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, and other agreements, enhance the level of trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, and promote the deep integration of the entire agricultural industry chain in the region towards greater stability, closeness, and efficiency.

Optimize product structure. To meet the needs of consumption upgrading and supply improvement, we will moderately increase the import of high-quality and characteristic agricultural products, enrich residents' dining table choices, and meet consumers' multi-level, personalized, and high-quality consumption needs. Support the import of high-quality agricultural production materials such as seeds, agricultural inputs, and machinery that are conducive to enhancing agricultural competitiveness, and consolidate the foundation of high-quality agricultural development from the supply side. On the premise of ensuring safety, we will sign agricultural product inspection and quarantine access agreements with relevant countries, steadily promote the inspection and quarantine access of important agricultural products such as fruits, nuts, and beef and mutton, expand the scope of source countries, and expand the import categories.

Smooth import channels. Give full play to the role of international exhibition platforms such as China International Import Expo and China Import and Export Fair, optimize the international supply and procurement of agricultural products, and promote the "import" and "sales" of high-quality agricultural products worldwide. Promote the integrated development of agricultural trade and investment, support qualified enterprises to carry out agricultural investment in countries jointly building the "the Belt and Road" by relying on platforms such as overseas economic and trade cooperation zones and agricultural cooperation parks, and create a stable cross-border industrial chain supply chain. Innovate import trade methods, promote the innovative development of new formats and models such as cross-border e-commerce, promote the continuous expansion of border trade, and steadily expand the import of characteristic agricultural products from neighboring countries and emerging markets.

Build a strong safety barrier. Strengthen monitoring of international supply, demand, and price trends of key agricultural products such as grain, sugar, and cotton, with a focus on identifying key risk variables such as extreme weather, geopolitical conflicts, and trade policies, to achieve early identification and graded response to import risks of key agricultural products. Improve the trade remedy system, timely initiate anti-dumping, anti subsidy and other trade remedy measures in accordance with the law for industries severely affected by imports, explore the establishment of a trade adjustment assistance system for important and sensitive industries, and reasonably safeguard industrial security and farmers' interests. Promote the effective connection between trade regulation and industrial security, scientifically regulate the import scale and proportion of key agricultural products, and ensure the smooth operation of important agricultural product production and circulation.

(Author: Liu Yizhuo, Researcher at the Institute of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, Ministry of Commerce)