China-Russia agri ties

Growing consumption rates and disruption of global supply chains have led China to eye a sustainably focused circular economy and to search for reliable agricultural imports. This give Russia a major chance to expand trade relations with China beyond oil and gas exports, and to assert itself as a reliable, even indispensable, partner for China's food security.

During the past few decades China has demonstrated a spectacular shift in consumption habits. Grain consumption more than tripled from 125 million metric tons in 1975 to 420 million in 2018, while currently the average Chinese person eats 63 kilograms of meat a year, six times the meateating rate in 1978. With the world's largest population, this has established China as the biggest consumer of meat globally.

Beijing recently announced plans to increase productivity in its US$1.7 trillion agricultural sector, but food security still raises concerns. Although China's agriculture sector logged robust performance in the first quarter of 2020 and recorded a 3.5% year-on-year increase in the added value of the planting industry, there were multiple signs of weaknesses in China's agricultural sector.

In August, President Xi Jinping raised the issue of food security when he spoke about "shocking and distressing" wastage, called for better public awareness and the promotion of a social environment where "waste is shameful."

At the same time the China Academy of Social Sciences warned about a grain supply gap of about 130 million metric tons by the end of 2025. That has been attributed to increasing urbanization and an aging rural workforce. For instance, since 1949, China lost one-fifth of its arable land to urbanization and currently only about 10% of land is suitable for agriculture.

Concerns about food waste and growing consumption demand also take a toll on the environment. For instance, direct manure discharge from China's animal husbandry activities are dramatically polluting the rivers and about 34% of food produced on China's farms is never eaten, according to McKinsey.