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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| China fears food crisis as imports hit $14bn |
| 2004-08-23 |
| via ft.com (h/t Lucianne) - EFL By James Kynge in Beijing - updated: August 22 2004 21:57 China has become a net importer of farm produce, raising concerns at the highest levels of government about the security of the food supply for 1.3bn people as land and water shortages put pressure on domestic grain production. Hu Jintao, China's president, has commissioned urgent studies on food security after evidence in 2003 and this year that China's grain output was dwindling as demand rises in the long term, officials and academics said. China's growing dependence on western imports comes as trade in agriculture has become one of the most bitterly fought-over aspects of the Doha global trade round. The three biggest exporters to China were the US, Canada and Australia. "The leadership is very concerned about food security. They were all young men during the famine of the late 1950s and 1960s. It is not only a strategic issue of dependence on foreign markets for them, it is also a very personal issue of food self-sufficiency," said one academic who advises the government on food security issues. ...more... Uh, oh. Y'know, between their 120 male / 100 female birth ratio, the Three Gorges Dam, flight to the cities resulting in having to import food and growing unemployment, and numerous other bogglers, I'd say the Commie Leadership is kicking ass, wouldn't you? Can you say implosion? |
| Posted by:.com |
| #12 1.3 billion people? Not enough food? Nah, I wouldn't worry about it, Hu.... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2004-08-23 3:58:37 PM |
| #11 I dunno about "implosion." A huge oversupply of men with no prospects for domesticity sounds like a recipe for war. The government is probably smart enough to point armies outwards. Look for propoganda campaigns demonizing one or more of their neighbors, or maybe for "recovering" Taiwan. If the central govt isn't on the ball, then look for regional friction. |
| Posted by: James 2004-08-23 2:17:12 PM |
| #10 and with all their food import problems, the PRC is the main supplier of food to NKor. Of course they send lots of food to North Korea. Have you ever seen what happens if you try and stop feeding a pit bull? "Dogs are only three missed meals away from being wolves." |
| Posted by: Zenster 2004-08-23 1:22:10 PM |
| #9 and with all their food import problems, the PRC is the main supplier of food to NKor. |
| Posted by: mhw 2004-08-23 1:13:29 PM |
| #8 You would have thought that the Clintons would have thrown in the plans for genetically altered grain when the chicoms were shopping the SAM's club of secret information during the 90's. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-08-23 9:49:27 AM |
| #7 Zenster: Two out of three ain't bad. Time to cut some of those links in the food chain for president Hu Ta'GypNow. In wartime, mining China's harbors will make it three out of three. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2004-08-23 9:47:21 AM |
| #6 Maybe this article has it all figured out. The Chinese will soon need American food stuffs to stay alive and send us all those Pier One imports. |
| Posted by: Anonymous6147 2004-08-23 9:37:06 AM |
| #5 Actually, that was the "Great Leap Forward" that took China back to the pre-agricultural era. The Cultural Revolution just took care of the past 2,000 years of civilization. |
| Posted by: mary 2004-08-23 9:16:43 AM |
| #4 Of course the famine of the 50's and 60's had nothing to do with the"Cultural Revolution".Nope not at all. |
| Posted by: raptor 2004-08-23 8:51:33 AM |
| #3 The other fly in the ointment for the Chicoms is the large amount of capital flight into offshore banks like Bermuda. The Chicoms are trying to stem the flow. The smart comrades are getting out. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2004-08-23 3:41:22 AM |
| #2 The three biggest exporters to China were the US, Canada and Australia. Two out of three ain't bad. Time to cut some of those links in the food chain for president Hu Ta'GypNow. Their "scientifically planned economy" is about to go through a "scientifically unplanned meltdown." |
| Posted by: Zenster 2004-08-23 1:52:27 AM |
| #1 This means mining China's harbors in a conflict over Taiwan is going to put a crimp in China's food supplies. Good... |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2004-08-23 1:42:05 AM |