Farmer’s Daily: Strategic Thinking of China’s Agricultural Development Going Global
In 1995, China put forward the idea of "going out" in agriculture, and in 2007, the No.1 document of the Central Committee formally put forward the idea of "going out" in agriculture as a national strategy. In the past twenty years, China’s agricultural "going out" has experienced the development process of folk initiation and national strategy implementation, and has achieved good results, but also encountered some problems. To sum up, the main achievements are as follows: (1) the accelerated growth of foreign direct investment, the increasingly extensive and diversified investment areas, methods and industries, and the rapid accumulation of investment income and experience; The main problems are manifested in three levels. First, there is a lack of self-ability at the enterprise level, such as lack of international talents and lack of overseas management experience. Second, there are obstacles to the absence of national public services at the institutional policy level, such as mismatched domestic financing policies and incomplete implementation of investment agreements among some countries; Third, there are environmental risk challenges at the host country level. In order to develop China’s agriculture globally in the future, it is necessary to assess the situation, strategize, locate accurately, ensure the overall situation and plan systematically.
First, size up the situation, and deeply analyze the strategic situation of China’s agricultural development going global.
(A) The present stage is a period of great strategic opportunities for China’s agricultural development to go global.
Judging that the present stage is a period of great strategic opportunities for China’s agricultural development to go global, it is based on the following three facts: First, China’s national strength has been rapidly improved, and it already has the national strength to plan agricultural development on a global scale. Second, the world’s undeveloped agricultural resources are still abundant, and there is still huge room for China’s agricultural development to go global. It is timely for China’s agricultural development to go global by making use of the world’s agricultural development potential, filling the regional gaps and bridging the gap in the industrial chain. Third, the rapid growth of agricultural enterprises in China and the mature development of agricultural technology have created the profound internal strength for China’s agriculture to go global. It is timely for China’s agricultural development to go global, with export-oriented leading agricultural industrialization enterprises as the master and advanced and applicable agricultural technologies as the sharp weapon.
(B) The current world development trend is generally beneficial to the global development of China’s agriculture.
Judging the world development trend is generally beneficial for China’s agricultural development to go global, based on the comprehensive evaluation of the following challenges and opportunities: First, although there are still downside risks in world development and the prices of bulk agricultural products are in a depression, the global economy is in a post-crisis recovery period, the global monetary policy is generally loose, developing countries such as China and India strengthen economic reforms, and Asian, European and African countries actively respond to the "One Belt, One Road" initiative advocated by China. The recovery of the world economy is expected, the demand for agricultural products will be further expanded, and China’s agricultural development will move towards a global economic environment. Second, China’s agricultural "going out" has increasingly highlighted the concepts of "pro-,sincerity, benefit, tolerance" and "harmony", emphasized common development and mutual benefit, helped the agricultural development of the host country, won the hearts of the people and gained friendship, and the international environment for China’s agricultural development to go global has become more and more favorable. Third, although the risks of overseas agricultural operations are prominent, the overseas investment of Chinese agricultural enterprises to the world is growing steadily, with an average annual growth rate of more than 20%. The strategic tools to deal with various risks are gradually enriched, and the ability to identify, deal with and control risks is also significantly enhanced.
Second, strategize and reposition the strategic goal of China’s agricultural development going global.
At present, the global economic development is getting better for a long time, the international pattern is profoundly adjusted, the risks are identifiable, avoidable, preventable and controllable, and the international environment is generally favorable. Going global is a major choice for China’s agricultural development in the new period. We should strategize, accurately position, clearly define the goals and develop with the trend.
First of all, we should establish the concept of "harmonious development", adhere to the motto of "pro-,sincerity, benefit and tolerance", and realize the win-win cooperation between China’s agriculture and the agricultural development of the host country. Secondly, we should clearly set the following goals: expand the development space of China’s agriculture, and enhance the global competitiveness, resource allocation, market control and international influence of China’s agriculture. Third, it is necessary to make clear the main body of China’s agricultural development going global, with large multinational agricultural enterprises dominated by China capital as the core body, small and medium-sized overseas investment agricultural enterprises actively participating in the global agricultural market as beneficial participants, relevant financial institutions, intermediaries and think tanks as the providers of core services, and government departments as the providers of key policies and public services. Finally, we should carry out the following ideas: consider and comprehensively apply the two international and domestic markets, two resources and two types of rules, actively implement the deployment of the "Belt and Road Initiative", accelerate the implementation of agricultural "going out", lay out the global agricultural industrial chain, build a number of key multinational agricultural enterprises, deeply integrate and control the key links and major value-added nodes of the global agricultural industrial chain, and build an efficient and sustainable global agricultural product supply and demand coordination network and a global allocation network of agricultural science and technology and resources.
Third, make sure of the overall situation and systematically plan the strategic countermeasures for China’s agricultural development to go global
(1) Strengthen strategic planning and support at the national level.
It is a strategic choice at the national level for agricultural development to go global. It is necessary to make strategic planning, strengthen state support, carry out long-term strategic planning and implementation, and continuously strengthen macro guidance and service capabilities for agriculture to go global. The strategic deployment of China’s agricultural development going global should obey and serve the overall situation of the country’s development, coordinate and promote each other with the country’s diplomatic strategy, foreign investment strategy and foreign aid strategy, and realize the national interests to the greatest extent. Strategic planning should pay attention to gradual progress and divide strategic development stages. At the present stage, we should focus on developing stable agricultural products trade and providing agricultural assistance to developing countries. In the medium term, we should focus on overseas agricultural investment and international agricultural cooperation. In the long term, we should aim at building large-scale multinational agricultural enterprises, building a global agricultural product supply and demand adjustment network and an agricultural science and technology and resource allocation network.
(B) to strengthen the cultivation of large multinational agricultural enterprises
Multinational agricultural enterprises are the key subjects to enhance the global competitiveness, resource allocation, market control and international influence of China’s agriculture. Encourage all kinds of enterprises to increase overseas agricultural investment; As soon as possible, select a group of multinational agricultural enterprises with a certain scale, good development foundation, experience and foundation in foreign agricultural investment and development, strong economic strength and sufficient reserves of talents, especially international management talents, to give key support; We will build a group of powerful international agricultural enterprises that can operate flexibly and develop for a long time in the international agricultural industrial chain and international agricultural products market, compete with the four international agricultural enterprises of ABCD on the same stage, and have the status of China.
(3) Deepening and expanding international cooperation in agriculture.
Actively implement the "Belt and Road Initiative" and strengthen agricultural trade and agricultural economic and trade cooperation between China and countries along the "Belt and Road"; Implement the development concept of "harmony", focus on strengthening agricultural assistance and cooperative development of agricultural resources in developing countries or regions, and strive to improve the self-sufficiency and export supply capacity of agricultural products in developing countries; Strengthen close trade and investment cooperation with developed countries with rich agricultural resources, actively participate in their comprehensive agricultural development and global supply chain construction, and increase the effective supply of global agricultural products through multiple channels.
(D) Layout of the global agricultural industrial chain
From the perspective of the layout of the whole industrial chain, we should make reasonable arrangements in agricultural scientific research, agricultural research and development, production, processing, logistics, warehousing and sales, and make long-term plans to form the control ability of the whole industrial chain. Can be distributed to agricultural production related fields, provide technical training and services for local producers, and exchange technology and services for products and markets; Extend to the field of agricultural products processing to realize the value-added of agricultural products; Extend to infrastructure construction and lay out the logistics system of agricultural products transportation. The government should actively support Chinese agricultural enterprises to lay out key nodes in the global agricultural industrial chain, and form a diversified win-win situation with resource development and cooperation in the whole agricultural industrial chain as the core. Guide and support agricultural enterprises to tilt towards capital and technology-intensive industries such as processing, logistics, warehousing and docks, as well as key areas with high technology content such as research and development, improve the level of agricultural foreign investment, and continuously optimize the investment structure.
(Author: Institute of Agricultural Economics and Development, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences)