CRNTT:

Due to significant fluctuations in the global food market in recent years, food security has become an issue of common concern to all parties. How do you perceive China's food security at present and in the following period, and how to ensure food security in a large country with a population of over 1.4 billion? Thank you. 

Zhao Chenxin:

Thank you for your question. It's quite an important one. Just now, Mr. Li mentioned food security when taking other questions. Now, I will give you a detailed introduction. 

Food security concerns the country's most fundamental interests. General Secretary Xi Jinping has reiterated that we must always have control over our own food supply and fill the rice bowl of Chinese people mainly with Chinese grain. In recent years, uncertain and unpredictable factors have been intertwined worldwide, and the global food market has encountered frequent and substantial fluctuations. We have earnestly implemented the decisions and plans of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council with relevant parties and ensured stable domestic grain production and supply in response to the uncertainty of the external environment. The domestic food market has maintained a sound momentum of ample supply and stable operation. Last year, in the face of unexpected factors such as a prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and extreme weather, with joint efforts from all parties, China saw a bumper grain harvest with a record-high output of 686.55 million metric tons. It was the eighth consecutive year that the grain output exceeded 650 million metric tons. We also achieved notable results in expanding the plantation of soybean and oil crops, carried out grain purchases in a steady and orderly manner, and significantly improved our logistics and emergence response capabilities. In general, China has a solid foundation in ensuring grain supply and stabilizing prices as bumper grain harvest continued for many straight years. With the constant improvement of market regulation, a secure and reliable logistics system, a relatively high level of stock, and an enhanced ability to respond to severe natural disasters and public emergencies, China has delivered a good job in ensuring food security. Our food supply can meet people's daily consumption needs and the need to develop relevant industries. 

As China has a population of over 1.4 billion, ensuring food supply always remains a top priority in the governance of the country. We must never relax our efforts to ensure national food security. Following Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, we will implement the food crop production strategy based on farmland management and technological application, and uphold the national strategy on food security featuring self-sufficiency based on domestic grain production, guaranteed food production capacity, moderate imports, and technological support. We will take comprehensive measures concerning all links of grain production, purchase, storage, processing, and sales, and coordinate to enhance our abilities to produce, transport, and store grain so as to consolidate the all-rounded foundation of food security. On the one hand, we will make every effort to increase grain production. We will see that the Party and the government will be equally responsible for food security and arable land protection, and improve policies to support major grain-producing areas, major areas of grain sales, and balanced areas of grain production and sales, in a bid to ensure stable grain acreage. We will launch a new round of actions to increase China's grain production capacity by 50 million metric tons and continue to advance projects to improve soybean and oil production capacity. We will invigorate the seed industry and accelerate breakthroughs in key and core agricultural technologies. On the other hand, we will make every effort to safeguard market supply. We will continue to improve our ability to regulate grain harvest and storage, enhance the balance of grain production and consumption as well as market regulation, and deliver a good job in grain purchases. We will enhance the construction of grain storage and logistics facilities and make good arrangements for the sale of excess grain stockpiles. Continued efforts will be made to optimize a national grain emergency response system. In a word, we have the foundation, conditions, abilities, and confidence to safeguard a secure food supply for Chinese people. We will speed up building a national food security system that is higher-level, higher-quality, more efficient, and more sustainable, providing strong support for the stable and sound development of the economy and society. Thank you.