Chinese authorities have pledged a host of disaster-relief measures to ensure a strong autumn grain harvest, which is being threatened by widespread drought in the south and potential flooding in the north.
Achieving just a 1 per cent increase in China’s summer wheat harvest this year highlights how hard it is to increase grain output, while also showing that more measures must be taken.
Premier Li Keqiang says China has refrained from ‘excessive’ money printing in recent years to prevent inflation and create room to counter new challenges.
Zhang Wufeng, the former director of the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration, is by far the highest-ranking bureaucrat to be targeted in a nationwide corruption crackdown on China’s grain sector.