After years of pilots and regulatory fine-tuning, two initial batches of GM corn and soybean varieties were approved in October 2023 and March 2024. Corn varieties dominated the approvals, outnumbering soybeans 64 to 17. MARA forecasts corn imports falling 70 percent to 6.8 million tonnes by 2033.
Beijing officially portrays itself as a natural member of the Global South. Wang Yi 王毅 Foreign Minister told a major foreign policy press conference in March that the PRC ‘was, is and will be a steadfast member of the Global South.’ This aligns with Beijing's self-classification as a developing nation.
The 2024 Two Sessions (4–11 March) was held amid heightened global and domestic tension. Heeding a chorus of stability concerns, officials and delegates alike proposed bolstering state supervision, echoing the Party's hardening vision of political sustainability. National security has been at the heart of CPC policymaking since the 20th Party Congress in November 2022. General Secretary Xi Jinping deems it the ‘basis of China’s rejuvenation’.
Long circulating in the media, overcapacity has become the hot-button issue in the PRC–West disaffection. US Commerce Secretary Janet Yellen’s early April 2024 visit to the PRC largely centred on it. Chancellor Scholz raised the issue directly with Xi Jinping on 16 April.