Dim Sums: Agricultural Markets in China

China's propaganda authorities revealed that data on rice production and other activities is severely inflated by local leaders who are under pressure to create the illusion of prosperity and growth whether it exists or not. Officials in Beijing fault their underlings for failing to "seek truth from facts," but it is Beijing's "food security" measures that are based on "facts" from the last century. China actually produces too much rice, so there is no need to pile unrealistic rice-planting quotas on village leaders and farmers.  A July 14 Central China TV broadcast reported shocking discrepancies between reported rice cultivation and actual figures  in Jianghua County of Hunan Province. While fields along the highway were planted in rice as dictated by quotas handed out to each town and village, a drone flight revealed that fields hidden behind hills were actually planted in cash crops. After checking the ledgers, the reporter found that a village...

China has fired two agriculture ministers over the past two years, one of whom got a death sentence. This appears to be the routine discovery of bad apples in the system, but it reflects the desperation of Chinese leaders to restore confidence in the Party's leadership.  Much like a religious revival, new Agriculture Minister Zhang Zhu's first meeting with employees two days after being appointed urged communist party members to "forge their collective will and soul," translate their beliefs into collective actions, promptly correct any deviations, and address malpractices and corruption issues that directly affect the public, demonstrating "unwavering loyalty to the Party." This is the latest in a series of meetings held this year to lecture communist cadres about studying Xi Jinping thought, giving up corruption and lax work attitudes, and pursuing their jobs with sincerity. These meetings reflect the Party's worries that its hold on the countryside i...

Tang Renjian, China's Minister of Agriculture from 2020 to 2024, was given a death sentence with a 2-year reprieve for taking bribes totaling RMB 284 million, according to China's central news organization . Like most things in China, this is probably not what it appears to be.  Former Agriculture Minister Tang Renjian in court. The Changchun Intermediate People's Court of Jilin Province found former Party Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) Tang Renjian guilty of taking bribes during his tenure at various posts from 2007 to 2024. Tang was accused of using his power and status to assist units and individuals in business operations, project contracts, and job adjustments. Earlier this year, Radio Free Asia reported that Tang was accused of accepting gifts and property for help in business deals, favoring relatives, making "blind decisions" in poverty alleviation programs, and interfering in judicial decisions. It sounds like Tang acte...

China's Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs is under investigation  for "suspected serious violations of law and discipline" and his name and photo have been eliminated from the Ministry's "leaders" web page. The disciplinary review and investigation by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of Minister Tang Renjian was announced in a special Friday night meeting on May 18. Former Minister Tang's alleged crimes were not revealed. It is unusual for a government minister to be investigated, and the Minister had given a speech at an employee recruiting event in Shaanxi Province just 3 days before he was hauled up for investigation. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs doesn't have a lot of opportunities for corruption, and 61-year-old former Tang was known as a technocrat with a doctorate in economics. Tang is a native of Chongqing in southwest China, was a policy expert with the central rural policy leading group in Beijing, an...