Page 136 - 2018 White Paper on the Business Environment in China
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8 White Paper on the Business Environment in China
to mention the problems with trying to feed 21 percent in China, having experienced a litany of food scandals,
of the world’s population internally with only 9 percent are understandably distrustful of regulations around
of the country being arable. The country’s appetite has food and agriculture, and this extends to a distrust of
made China the world’s leader in imports since 2011. genetically modified foods” (China Province Bans).
Bloomberg now claims even though the country remains
committed to being self-sufficient in rice, wheat, and The American Chamber of Commerce in China has
other grains, officials fear that the country could become come down firmly on the side of genetically modified
dependent on foreigners for its food supply. The resulting crops, complaining to Chinese authorities that the
political pressure to increase yields is considerable U.S. strains of GMO have suffered from slower and
(Minter, China wants GMOs). less predictable approval for import into the country.
China has responded by saying the country will allow
China has imported millions of tons of GMO soybeans commercial production of modified corn and soybeans
to produce cooking oil and feed chickens and pigs in by 2020. Government officials plan to introduce the use
the last 15 years, snapping up roughly 65 percent of all of technology first on feed grains after cotton. According
imports during this time. A stream of negative reports to Bloomberg, China’s corn consumption is estimated to
starting about five years ago, however, dragged down grow 20 percent in the coming decade on demand for
the process of domestic cultivation and GMO crop protein-rich meat and dairy products (Niu).
importation. A 2012 trial of Golden Rice, a yellow GMO
that produced beta-carotene, caused public concern after Livestock
news reports claimed the rice was fed to children without
the parents being aware that it was genetically modified Although American cattle producers officially claimed
(Niu). An unapproved strain of genetically modified corn they are cautiously optimistic, they seemed downright
discovered in some U.S. shipments to China wreaked giddy when they found out that China’s beef with
havoc in the grain market, resulting in an estimated American cows was on the table for discussions between
$90 million in losses and lawsuits against Syngenta, the Presidents DonaldTrump and Xi Jinping.“In September [of
developer of the unapproved corn variety. China also cited 2016], China announced they were lifting the restrictions
“low public acceptance” of GMO food for the suspension on U.S. beef, but we are still unable to send our product
of the import approval process for a genetically modified because of several technical trade barriers. One example
soybean variety. The country has spent billions of yuan is the issue of traceability,” said Missouri Cattlemen’s
cultivating its own modified crops—the country has Association President Mike Deering in April. “It will still be
approved at least two pest resistant varieties of rice and a while before we see U.S. beef in the Chinese market. We
corn for commercialization—but never proceeded to have good reason for optimism but this isn’t a done deal”
launch the crops due to strong domestic opposition to (Livestock Briefs). It soon became well done when the U.S.
GMO technology (Patton, China Launches). Department of Agriculture announced rules for sending
U.S. beef to China. A shipping container stuffed with
As of 2016 Beijing did not permit the cultivation individually wrapped steaks left Nebraska on a one-way
of any GMO crop except for cotton and papaya, but it flight to China two days later. It was the first export of U.S.
announced that it was ready to develop specific domestic beef in more than 13 years for Chinese consumers, whose
GMO crops including soybeans and corn for the first time. growing appetites for red meat fueled an estimated $2.6
Indeed, President Xi Jinping called for the country to be billion in beef imports in 2016 (Bergin).
bold and “dominate the high points of GMO techniques”
in a speech released in 2014 and then conducted a U.S. beef exports took a massive hit in 2003 after
multi-million yuan promotional campaign supporting mad cow disease was found at a Washington state dairy.
genetically altered crops. This did not stop Heilongjiang, Japan, South Korea, Mexico and Canada—90 percent of
the country’s biggest grain-producing province, from U.S. beef exports at the time—all banned beef from the
passing a five-year moratorium on growing, processing, United States (Bergin). U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny
and selling GMO crops including rice, corn and soybeans. Perdue said, “This is tremendous news for the American
The ban was prompted by a survey that showed 90 beef industry, the agriculture community, and the U.S.
percent of Heilongjiang respondents had objections. economy in general. We will once again have access to
Sam Geall, a research fellow at the University of Sussex’s the enormous Chinese market, with a strong and growing
Science Policy Research Unit, explained that, “Consumers middle class, which had been closed to our ranchers for a
136
to mention the problems with trying to feed 21 percent in China, having experienced a litany of food scandals,
of the world’s population internally with only 9 percent are understandably distrustful of regulations around
of the country being arable. The country’s appetite has food and agriculture, and this extends to a distrust of
made China the world’s leader in imports since 2011. genetically modified foods” (China Province Bans).
Bloomberg now claims even though the country remains
committed to being self-sufficient in rice, wheat, and The American Chamber of Commerce in China has
other grains, officials fear that the country could become come down firmly on the side of genetically modified
dependent on foreigners for its food supply. The resulting crops, complaining to Chinese authorities that the
political pressure to increase yields is considerable U.S. strains of GMO have suffered from slower and
(Minter, China wants GMOs). less predictable approval for import into the country.
China has responded by saying the country will allow
China has imported millions of tons of GMO soybeans commercial production of modified corn and soybeans
to produce cooking oil and feed chickens and pigs in by 2020. Government officials plan to introduce the use
the last 15 years, snapping up roughly 65 percent of all of technology first on feed grains after cotton. According
imports during this time. A stream of negative reports to Bloomberg, China’s corn consumption is estimated to
starting about five years ago, however, dragged down grow 20 percent in the coming decade on demand for
the process of domestic cultivation and GMO crop protein-rich meat and dairy products (Niu).
importation. A 2012 trial of Golden Rice, a yellow GMO
that produced beta-carotene, caused public concern after Livestock
news reports claimed the rice was fed to children without
the parents being aware that it was genetically modified Although American cattle producers officially claimed
(Niu). An unapproved strain of genetically modified corn they are cautiously optimistic, they seemed downright
discovered in some U.S. shipments to China wreaked giddy when they found out that China’s beef with
havoc in the grain market, resulting in an estimated American cows was on the table for discussions between
$90 million in losses and lawsuits against Syngenta, the Presidents DonaldTrump and Xi Jinping.“In September [of
developer of the unapproved corn variety. China also cited 2016], China announced they were lifting the restrictions
“low public acceptance” of GMO food for the suspension on U.S. beef, but we are still unable to send our product
of the import approval process for a genetically modified because of several technical trade barriers. One example
soybean variety. The country has spent billions of yuan is the issue of traceability,” said Missouri Cattlemen’s
cultivating its own modified crops—the country has Association President Mike Deering in April. “It will still be
approved at least two pest resistant varieties of rice and a while before we see U.S. beef in the Chinese market. We
corn for commercialization—but never proceeded to have good reason for optimism but this isn’t a done deal”
launch the crops due to strong domestic opposition to (Livestock Briefs). It soon became well done when the U.S.
GMO technology (Patton, China Launches). Department of Agriculture announced rules for sending
U.S. beef to China. A shipping container stuffed with
As of 2016 Beijing did not permit the cultivation individually wrapped steaks left Nebraska on a one-way
of any GMO crop except for cotton and papaya, but it flight to China two days later. It was the first export of U.S.
announced that it was ready to develop specific domestic beef in more than 13 years for Chinese consumers, whose
GMO crops including soybeans and corn for the first time. growing appetites for red meat fueled an estimated $2.6
Indeed, President Xi Jinping called for the country to be billion in beef imports in 2016 (Bergin).
bold and “dominate the high points of GMO techniques”
in a speech released in 2014 and then conducted a U.S. beef exports took a massive hit in 2003 after
multi-million yuan promotional campaign supporting mad cow disease was found at a Washington state dairy.
genetically altered crops. This did not stop Heilongjiang, Japan, South Korea, Mexico and Canada—90 percent of
the country’s biggest grain-producing province, from U.S. beef exports at the time—all banned beef from the
passing a five-year moratorium on growing, processing, United States (Bergin). U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny
and selling GMO crops including rice, corn and soybeans. Perdue said, “This is tremendous news for the American
The ban was prompted by a survey that showed 90 beef industry, the agriculture community, and the U.S.
percent of Heilongjiang respondents had objections. economy in general. We will once again have access to
Sam Geall, a research fellow at the University of Sussex’s the enormous Chinese market, with a strong and growing
Science Policy Research Unit, explained that, “Consumers middle class, which had been closed to our ranchers for a
136
