China says it has achieved more than 95% self-sufficiency in grain supplies

China’s State Council (Executive) announced this Thursday that the country has achieved a self-sufficiency level of over 95% in its grain supply.

The Asian country has 483 kilograms of cereal seeds per capita, “above the level considered internationally safe at 400 kilograms,” said Kong Liang, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission. body of the country’s economic planning, local newspaper The Paper quoted.

Cong Liang assured that all concerned institutions in the country have “deliberately implemented policies and initiatives to ensure national food security,” which was identified as “absolute priority” at the 20th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) held in October last year.

The spokesman vowed to work so that “the rice bowls of the Chinese people remain firm in our hands” by “protecting arable land” and “effectively improving the ability to collect, store and control cereals.”

Chinese President Xi Jinping assured last January that although the 1.4 billion Chinese “are eating well today,” the country “should not relax on the food issue.”

Food supplies cannot be considered a “minor issue,” the Chinese leader said, warning that the Asian country cannot “rely on the international market” for food security.

China should adhere to the principles of “self-sufficiency based on domestic production” and “moderate grain imports,” Xi Jinping said.

The Asian country feeds almost 19% of the world’s population, with only 8% of the world’s arable land and only 5% of the planet’s water.

On Wednesday, it became known that Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed the government to sign an agreement with China on the creation of a grain corridor that will increase exports to the Asian country.

The purpose of the agreement, which should be ready by October 1, is to increase grain production in Siberia and mainly in the Far East, areas that border China.