Dim Sums: Agricultural Markets in China

 "Non-GMO soybeans are our core competitive advantage"--so proclaimed the head of China's soybean industry association in a speech earlier this month.   The speech on " The development and future outlook for China's soybean industry " presented at the Dalian Commodity Exchange's China International Oils and Oilseeds Conference cited the Russia-Ukraine war, "international epidemics," and "China-U.S. relations" as factors creating crises in food, energy, and "data security." The speaker said these crises validate China's obsession with food security and the necessity of maintaining "oilseed security."  The speech was given by Yang Baolong, deputy Party secretary and general manager of Beidahuang Nongken Group, the commercial arm of the network of giant State Farms in Heilongjiang Province. The speech featured plenty of national jingoism and nods to Heilongjiang and Beidahuang as key players in China's soybean...

A puzzling tie-up between COFCO and Baowu Steel--Chinese state-owned food-trading and steel-making behemoths-- was featured at a signing ceremony for 11 collaborative agreements between 15 central state-owned companies and 5 local state-owned companies held October 31. Short English summary here . The ceremony, held immediately after the conclusion of the 20th communist party congress, is apparently a signal that newly-minted dictator-for-life Xi Jinping has endorsed state-owned companies as the core of his approach to economic management.  The chairman of the State-owned asset supervision committee presiding over the ceremony promised formation of new enterprises that would "serve the new requirements of national strategic goals." The description of the ceremony emphasized interconnections between state-owned companies, including plenty of language about "collaboration," "linkages," "integration," and "industry chains." The tie-up bet...