Expanding markets, undermining food sovereignty: 10 years of China’s Belt and Road
www.msingiafrikamagazine.com
In October 2023, delegates from 140 countries met in Beijing to mark the 10th anniversary of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Against the backdrop of China’s economic challenges and tensions with the US, the Third BRI Forum supposedly marked a shift away from major overseas investments in large-scale projects. The Belt and Road Initiative...

Cross-posted from: https://feddit.de/post/9595787

Ten years into the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects, the expansion of corporate investments in the global agri-food system has reached new heights. As evidenced by China’s plans in agriculture, fisheries and e-commerce in Africa and Asia, it is hard to find anything “green” or small-scale about the BRI.

China seems to be caught in a vicious cycle: the more its BRI expands with its large-scale agricultural techno-fixes for the profit of a few large Chinese conglomerates, the more dependent it becomes on food imports, increasingly undermining its own food sovereignty.

[Edit typo.]