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5 White Paper on the Business Environment in China
tion from 310 million to 31 million over the next 40 years” as taminated with heavy metals; the mushrooms imbued with
part of modernization e orts.9 In other words, the situation is bleach; and the pork so dosed with banned stimulants that
far from ideal in absolute terms regardless of impressive rela- athletes attending an international meet in Shanghai had to
tive gains made in recent years. be told which restaurants were safe to eat at.”12
Another issue seems to be enforcement of policies current- In examining the cause of pervasive food safety issues in
ly on the books. In August of 2012, a series of “inspections” China, the Wall Street Journal quoted Beijing-based attorney
was announced which intended, according to NPC Stand- Lester Ross as suggesting that “one of the biggest issues is the
ing Committee Chair Wu Bangguo, to “ nd out the promi- drive to make a buck at any cost [… that] some companies
nent issues that hamper China’s rural reform and develop- see that by using additives, they can cut overhead costs or
ment and providing suggestions to promote the agricultural boost pro t margins, and they merely aren’t thinking about
modernization.”10 the a ects the additives will have on consumers.” Mr. Ross
furthermore attributes “too many bureaucracies handling
At the time, China Daily reported that the new round food safety” as an additional source of problems.13
of inspections—focusing on “the development of modern
agriculture, grain safety and the protection of farmland”— e same report notes that “sanitation and contamination
were the eighth-such carried out since 2003.10 e fact that issues permeated the food manufacturing and processing in
the inspections were carried out by o cials dispatched from the US in the late-19th century”, observing that it was not
Beijing, combined with follow-up comments from another until the publication of e Jungle, “a book that unveiled the
NPC Standing Committee about the “[promotion of ] better horri c standards of meat-packing plants of Chicago, that the
implementation of the law as it provides rm legal safeguard US began to wake up to its food safety problems.”13
for the development of agriculture and the improvement of
living standards in rural areas”10, suggests that the inspections Regardless of cause and precedent, the at least one e ect of
also aimed to curtail local-level corruption in rural areas. ongoing safety issues is thoroughly predictable:
Inspections aside, the same NPC Standing Committee “It’s clear that the credibility of the system will su er,”
member also pointed out that “China [is] facing a series
of challenges in rural development, including weak grain said Peter K. Ben Embarek, the World Health Organi-
productivity, lack of a long-term system for raising the farmers’
income, and shortage of farmland and water resources”9— zation’s food safety o cial. “ e (Chinese) consumer
somewhat tempering the optimistic National Bureau of
Statistics gures listed above and reported by China Daily the will continue to lose con dence in Chinese products
very same day.
and consumers abroad will equally lose con dence in
Another source of ongoing concern is China’s now-notori-
ous problems with food safety: Chinese products.”14
Since 2008, when six children died and 300,000 A nal challenge likely to play a greater role in the future
were sickened by melamine-tainted baby formula, of the sector is consumer acceptance of genetically-modi ed
the Chinese government has enacted ever-more-strict foodstu s.
policies to ensure food safety, including a directive last
month from the Supreme Court calling for the death In the past 30 years, China’s urban population has jumped
penalty in cases where people die as a result of tainted to about 700 million from under 200 million, driving up de-
foods. mand for meat and staples such as rice that scientists say only
GMO can satisfy.15
It hasn’t helped. If anything, China’s food scandals are
becoming increasingly frequent and bizarre.11 “Winning acceptance for the more widespread use of
GMO,” observes Reuters, “may be a hard sell in a country
e source of the above quote focused on tainted pork frequently in the grip of food scares.”15 Nevertheless, the
served at a wedding in Hunan province; another incident— State media are attempting exactly that. On a single day in
only two months later—involved 11 deaths in Xinjiang from November 2013, “Communist Party mouthpiece the People’s
poisonous vinegar. According to that report, “…those are just Daily rejected rumors that eating GMO food could alter
the latest. ey follow the meat that glowed in the dark; the human DNA, and news agency Xinhua ran an investigation
tainted buns; the exploding watermelons; the 40 tons of bean last week debunking tales that GMO corn consumption had
sprouts containing antibiotics and carcinogens; the rice con- reduced sperm counts.”15
96 At least some stakeholders remain unimpressed by the pub-
lic relations e ort: “Scientists have been at pains to show that
GMO is already part of the food chain: China is the world’s
top importer of GMO soybeans, used as feed, and also im-
ports GMO corn from the United States and elsewhere,” all
factors which may render the public debate moot.15
tion from 310 million to 31 million over the next 40 years” as taminated with heavy metals; the mushrooms imbued with
part of modernization e orts.9 In other words, the situation is bleach; and the pork so dosed with banned stimulants that
far from ideal in absolute terms regardless of impressive rela- athletes attending an international meet in Shanghai had to
tive gains made in recent years. be told which restaurants were safe to eat at.”12
Another issue seems to be enforcement of policies current- In examining the cause of pervasive food safety issues in
ly on the books. In August of 2012, a series of “inspections” China, the Wall Street Journal quoted Beijing-based attorney
was announced which intended, according to NPC Stand- Lester Ross as suggesting that “one of the biggest issues is the
ing Committee Chair Wu Bangguo, to “ nd out the promi- drive to make a buck at any cost [… that] some companies
nent issues that hamper China’s rural reform and develop- see that by using additives, they can cut overhead costs or
ment and providing suggestions to promote the agricultural boost pro t margins, and they merely aren’t thinking about
modernization.”10 the a ects the additives will have on consumers.” Mr. Ross
furthermore attributes “too many bureaucracies handling
At the time, China Daily reported that the new round food safety” as an additional source of problems.13
of inspections—focusing on “the development of modern
agriculture, grain safety and the protection of farmland”— e same report notes that “sanitation and contamination
were the eighth-such carried out since 2003.10 e fact that issues permeated the food manufacturing and processing in
the inspections were carried out by o cials dispatched from the US in the late-19th century”, observing that it was not
Beijing, combined with follow-up comments from another until the publication of e Jungle, “a book that unveiled the
NPC Standing Committee about the “[promotion of ] better horri c standards of meat-packing plants of Chicago, that the
implementation of the law as it provides rm legal safeguard US began to wake up to its food safety problems.”13
for the development of agriculture and the improvement of
living standards in rural areas”10, suggests that the inspections Regardless of cause and precedent, the at least one e ect of
also aimed to curtail local-level corruption in rural areas. ongoing safety issues is thoroughly predictable:
Inspections aside, the same NPC Standing Committee “It’s clear that the credibility of the system will su er,”
member also pointed out that “China [is] facing a series
of challenges in rural development, including weak grain said Peter K. Ben Embarek, the World Health Organi-
productivity, lack of a long-term system for raising the farmers’
income, and shortage of farmland and water resources”9— zation’s food safety o cial. “ e (Chinese) consumer
somewhat tempering the optimistic National Bureau of
Statistics gures listed above and reported by China Daily the will continue to lose con dence in Chinese products
very same day.
and consumers abroad will equally lose con dence in
Another source of ongoing concern is China’s now-notori-
ous problems with food safety: Chinese products.”14
Since 2008, when six children died and 300,000 A nal challenge likely to play a greater role in the future
were sickened by melamine-tainted baby formula, of the sector is consumer acceptance of genetically-modi ed
the Chinese government has enacted ever-more-strict foodstu s.
policies to ensure food safety, including a directive last
month from the Supreme Court calling for the death In the past 30 years, China’s urban population has jumped
penalty in cases where people die as a result of tainted to about 700 million from under 200 million, driving up de-
foods. mand for meat and staples such as rice that scientists say only
GMO can satisfy.15
It hasn’t helped. If anything, China’s food scandals are
becoming increasingly frequent and bizarre.11 “Winning acceptance for the more widespread use of
GMO,” observes Reuters, “may be a hard sell in a country
e source of the above quote focused on tainted pork frequently in the grip of food scares.”15 Nevertheless, the
served at a wedding in Hunan province; another incident— State media are attempting exactly that. On a single day in
only two months later—involved 11 deaths in Xinjiang from November 2013, “Communist Party mouthpiece the People’s
poisonous vinegar. According to that report, “…those are just Daily rejected rumors that eating GMO food could alter
the latest. ey follow the meat that glowed in the dark; the human DNA, and news agency Xinhua ran an investigation
tainted buns; the exploding watermelons; the 40 tons of bean last week debunking tales that GMO corn consumption had
sprouts containing antibiotics and carcinogens; the rice con- reduced sperm counts.”15
96 At least some stakeholders remain unimpressed by the pub-
lic relations e ort: “Scientists have been at pains to show that
GMO is already part of the food chain: China is the world’s
top importer of GMO soybeans, used as feed, and also im-
ports GMO corn from the United States and elsewhere,” all
factors which may render the public debate moot.15
