On Feb. 3, Beijing released its annual “No. 1 Document,” outlining national strategies and measures related to agriculture and rural development, said the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service in Beijing, in a Global Agricultural Information Network release.
While food security remains the top priority, the focus has shifted from pursuing quantity increases to striving for improvements in quality. The document highlighted the adoption of “new productive forces” like artificial intelligence and robotics in agriculture.
Additionally, it reiterated diversifying import sources and stressed the importance of coordinating agricultural imports with domestic production.
FOOD SECURITY STILL PRIORITY
For many years, food security was the top priority of the country’s agricultural strategy. The central government focused on efforts to increase grain production through various policies like ensuring adequate acreage for grain production, seed development, subsidies to grain farmers, procurement price support, soil improvement and most recently, a plan to improve grain production capacity by another 50 million tonnes.
Consequently, China’s grain output reached 700 million tonnes for two straight years in 2024 and 2025. However, in recent years, China’s definition of “food security” expanded beyond staple grains to encompass feed crops (particularly oilseeds), animal protein (especially pork) and increasingly, diversified food sources from forestry and ocean resources.
Given constraints in land and water resources, agricultural imports, especially imports of feed materials and animal protein, remained an important component of meeting domestic demand. In 2025, China was the second largest global buyer of agricultural products, with imports reaching $207 billion.
RURAL DEVELOPMENT, MODERNIZATION AGENDA
After declaring victory over absolute poverty in 2020, Beijing established a five-year transition period through 2025 to prevent rural populations from backsliding into poverty. This focus on rural income stability influences agricultural policy decisions and can affect import patterns, particularly when domestic producer interests conflict with consumer demand for affordable, high-quality imported products.
In recent years, the No. 1 Documents placed increasing importance on achieving a “strong agricultural nation,” also called “agricultural modernization.” In addition to upgrading agricultural production, Beijing has deployed more policies to support rural governance, infrastructure, industries and public services.
RISK PREVENTION, MITIGATION
The document established an “Agricultural Resilience and Disaster Mitigation Network” to safeguard rural productivity against natural disasters and market volatility. This comprehensive prevention and control system prioritizes monitoring and early warning systems for meteorological and hydrological risks, supported by detailed surveys and zoning of agricultural climate resources.
To enhance physical infrastructure, the framework called for renovation of irrigation systems and development of emergency water sources for drought relief. It streamlined procedures for the emergency deployment of relief equipment and strengthened joint efforts to control major pest and disease outbreaks, ensuring coordinated response to environmental threats.
CATTLE, BEEF RECAP
The USDA reported formula and contract base prices for live FOB steers and heifers this week ranged from $242.46 per cwt to $252.00, compared with last week’s range of $240.65 to $247.06 per cwt. FOB dressed steers and heifers went for $381.78 per cwt to $389.59, compared with $376.57 to $385.81.
The USDA choice cutout Thursday was up $1.37 per cwt at $365.17 while select was down $0.84 at $359.79. The choice/select spread widened to $5.38 from $3.17 with 82 loads of fabricated product and 15 loads of trimmings and grinds sold into the spot market.
The USDA-listed the weighted average wholesale price for fresh 90% lean beef as $428.47 per cwt, and 50% beef was $160.59.
The USDA said basis bids for corn from feeders in the Southern Plains were unchanged at $0.98 to $1.12 a bushel over the Mar corn contract, which settled at $4.25 3/4, down $0.01 1/4.
No live cattle delivery intentions were posted Thursday.
The CME Feeder Cattle Index for the seven days ended Wednesday was $376.92 per cwt, up $0.90. This compares with Thursday’s Mar contract settlement of $370.27, down $0.30.