China to deepen agricultural reforms as slowdown takes root

The agricultural sector is set for an overhaul this year according to a major government release, which pinpointed the importance of farming policies in reviving economic momentum, Reuters reports.

The State Council’s publication, entitled the “No. 1 document”, returned to a rural rejuvenation strategy first tabled in 2017 which aimed to raise living standards in China’s impoverished countryside.

“Under the complicated situation of increasing downward pressure on the economy and profound changes in the external environment, it is of special importance to do a good job in agriculture and rural areas,” the document read.

Among the policies are a shake-up of China’s output composition, moving away from oversupplied corn crops towards oil seeds which are heavily imported. Agricultural goods have been a central feature of trade negotiations with the US, notably soybeans which China pledged to increase planting of in the latest document.