effectively control a country? Use economics, politics, and military hegemony? In fact, it is neither. If you really want to successfully strangle a country, the most effective and deadly weapon is to control its food.
So, if someone extends the "black hand" of food manipulation to China, which type of food should they start with? Faced with the other party’s obvious ambitions and strategies, what countermeasures has our country taken?
The origin of soybeans in the Americas
Everything has to start with the soybean that "falled" in the Americas.
In 1765, a sailor of the East India Company brought soybeans originating from China to the Americas for trial planting. Since the climate and soil were extremely suitable for the growth of soybeans, soybeans have since taken root in the foreign land of America.
However, at that time, China's soybeans not only ranked first in the world in annual output, but also became an important crop for exporting to earn foreign exchange . This makes people in the Americas somewhat discouraged. Due to the low income from soybeans and the lack of good market sales channels, American growers have not put much effort into soybeans, let alone building market competitiveness through large-scale planting.
However, things changed in the early 20th century. The United States encountered a serious oil supply crisis. Soybeans, an unpopular plant that can be used as an oil crop, have since attracted attention. In order to find high-quality foreign crop seeds, the United States has established an office specifically responsible for crop introduction and continues to send agricultural experts to various parts of the world.
In 1929, the famous American botanist Morse came to China with enthusiasm and developed a strong interest in soybeans grown in large areas in our country.
In the following period, Morse conducted in-depth research on soybeans grown in the northeastern region of our country, began to collect information, and asked local farmers for soybean planting techniques. Morse, who fell into a "crazy" about soybeans, soon obtained a wealth of research results.
In 1931, Morse chose to return to the United States. Before leaving, he took with him 4,773 soybean varieties and related soybean planting technology.
Soon, the soybean planting industry in the United States, driven by Morse and inspired by relevant U.S. policies, set off a large-scale planting frenzy. In just ten years, U.S. soybean production nearly doubled, and soon accounted for 60% of global soybean production. The United States has since become the world's largest soybean producer.
At the same time, the decline of in the late Qing Dynasty and the subsequent turbulent domestic situation have already shattered China's soybean industry, which originally accounted for more than 80% of the world. So far, with the rise of soybeans in the United States, soybeans that have been cultivated in China for more than 4,000 years have become "anomalies": not only the soybean output has become lower year by year, but also international sales have begun to be blocked.
It turns out that in order to seize the international market, the United States used various welfare policies to stimulate soybean planting in the Americas, while also actively improving soybean genes and cultivating and promoting new varieties. This move is called the "GMO revolution." Driven by this "food revolution", American soybeans have not only achieved double improvements in yield and quality, but their market competitive advantages have also become increasingly prominent.
food weapons?
Former US Secretary of State Kissinger has long said: " Whoever controls food controls humanity. "
Kissinger's words are not alarmist. The United States has indeed not only seen clearly in terms of food, but has also done an outstanding job.
In 1954, the United States officially promulgated Public Law No. 480. This bill stated that the United States could provide assistance to food-deficit countries around the world through sales and gifts. The food could be settled in the currency of the aiding country, and 25% of the money would be used for transportation and various costs, while the remaining 75% would be handed over to the aiding country's government. However, the aiding government must be supervised if it wants to use the money.
In this way, the United States gradually began to control the jobs of people around the world by creating a "moral image" in the global market and using so-called "food aid", "GMO revolution", and food financialization. Under the near-monopoly control of the United States, many traditional agricultural countries such as Mexico and Argentina have gradually lost their ability to be self-sufficient in food and were forced to transfer the country's food lifeline to the United States.
Maybe, some people will say: No matter how bad the United States is, isn't the "food aid" implemented around the world itself humanitarian ? How come it ended up being a monopoly operation?
In fact, this kind of assistance is not just "assistance" in the ordinary sense.
As early as the 1970s, the United States began to use food weapons to successfully threaten Chile, which was located in the southern part of the Americas and was facing food shortages. In the end, Chile used 37% of its foreign exchange reserves to purchase US food. At the same time, Chilean grain merchants were squeezed by super-cheap grain from the United States, which eventually led to the bankruptcy of Chilean local grain merchants one after another. Since then, Chile has had to rely heavily on the United States for its food security.
In 1972, Chile's new president Allende realized that Chile had become a puppet of US food aid. Therefore, in order to prevent Chile's future food security from being controlled by the United States, Allende frequently resisted US interference in Chile and publicly stated that he would completely rectify the food industry, especially companies controlled by the United States.
However, Allende, who was unable to support himself, relied on his own efforts to fight against imperial capital. How could he be a rival to the United States? Soon, the three major grain merchants of US-owned enterprises quickly raised the price of Chilean grain to an all-time high. While they began to consume a large amount of Chile's foreign exchange reserves, they also triggered inflation in Chile. For a time, Chile's economy collapsed and people were in dire straits. Faced with this social turmoil created by the United States, Chilean President Allende was forced to step down and "committed suicide to apologize."
After the fall of "Marxist" Allende, the new president became the military dictator Pinochet supported by the United States. After Pinochet came to power, the United States began to restart food aid to Chile under the banner of "saving" Chilean people's livelihood. However, these imported grains did not fundamentally benefit the Chilean people. Instead, they were sold by the Chilean military at high prices, and the proceeds were used to purchase American arms and weapons.
Just like that, the United States used the so-called " humanitarian aid " to not only completely stabilize Chile, the South American "backyard", but also made a lot of money using food and military weapons. It can be said that it kills two birds with one stone.
However, solving Chile, the "backyard of the Americas", did not allow the United States to experience a real victory. The United States believed that the real challenge came from the other side of the ocean, that country with a huge population-China.
Senior American strategist George Kennan once said this:
We own 50% of the world's wealth, but only account for 6.3% of the world's population. The gap between Asian countries and us is particularly significant. In this case, we cannot be the target of jealousy and hatred. Our real task is to design a relationship model that allows us to maintain this gap without compromising our national security. In order to do this, we have to shed all sentimentality and daydreaming and focus on each of our nation's most immediate goals. We cannot kid ourselves and others that it is too much of a luxury for us to go around the world doing unselfish and charitable things.
relax restrictions and join WTO?
Before 1994, in order to ensure domestic food security, China resolutely implemented an import quota system, which means that it would impose certain import restrictions based on domestic soybean demand every year, and then use a small vacancy to stimulate the continued expansion of localized soybean planting.This model very cleverly avoids many risky issues, such as protecting the domestic soybean industry, preventing a large influx of imported goods from impacting the domestic market, etc. China's agriculture has also been growing steadily under the protection of this system.
However, this quota system, which is good for my country but bad for the soybean industry in the Americas, has made the United States hate it. The United States has repeatedly threatened China to abandon quota restrictions on soybeans and other crops, but due to food security considerations, my country has firmly rejected them.
However, China, which has a huge population but lacks economic growth, has obviously been seized on its "lifeblood" - the WTO.
At that time, China urgently needed to develop its economy, and joining the World Trade Organization ("WTO" for short) not only meant that China could share the fruits of economic globalization, but also indicated that China would take the initiative in the future new international economic order . Therefore, joining the WTO has become something we think about day and night, but in fact, China's request to join the WTO negotiations began as early as the 1980s. However, due to the special negotiating conditions of the United States, the negotiations between the two parties did not go smoothly. From the Reagan era to the Bush era, and then to the Clinton era, the two sides did not reach an agreement. It was not until Clinton stepped down in 2001 that China officially joined the WTO.
However, one of the conditions for the United States to agree to China's accession to the WTO is that China must sign the "China-US Agricultural Cooperation Agreement." The so-called "China-U.S. Cooperation Agreement" has two main contents: first, it requires the cancellation of import quotas on soybeans and other crops; second, it requires the lifting of the embargo on U.S. wheat with dwarf smut.
Faced with this overlord agreement that is obviously a threat, China has worked hard for more than ten years and has had many debates and confrontations with the United States, but all ended in failure. In the end, in order to join the strategically important WTO, we finally had to adopt a compromise approach and formally agreed to the content of the Sino-US Cooperation Agreement in 1994 (formally signed in 2001).
After that, China’s economy began to take off, and American crops began to enter the Chinese market without any scruples. However, because China has been well prepared, and staple crops such as rice and wheat are protected by the "cultivation red line", the impact is not severe. However, due to its high protein and fat content, it is more suitable for use in China's livestock industry as breeding feed, as well as soybeans for food processing and oil extraction. However, because of its equally important strategic position, soybeans are doomed to escape disaster.
In 1995, the United States developed the highly commercial genetically modified soybean variety. Due to this variety's high yield, high oil yield, and strong disease resistance, the genetically modified soybean industry in the United States quickly expanded. At the same time, the U.S. government's high subsidy policy for localized planting also pushed the cost of soybeans to the bottom in the United States, so that U.S. soybeans that traveled across thousands of mountains and rivers, plus transportation costs, were still half the price of Chinese soybeans at the same period.
Such a predatory subsidy policy in the United States has seriously disrupted the order of the crop market. Faced with the obvious ambitions of the United States, China once made a strong protest to the WTO, but because the United States was the leader behind it, the WTO was unable to accept it.
In this way, the genetically modified soybeans of the United States not only quickly seized the international market, but also controlled the domestic soybean planting industry to a large extent. As a result, China's soybean market became highly dependent on low-priced soybeans produced in the United States, and even 90% relied on imports. China has also changed from the largest soybean exporter to the largest soybean importer today.
The "Death" of Soybean
However, the external backing will eventually collapse, and the price of this "collapse" will ultimately have to be borne by oneself.
In August 2003, the Chinese market, which had relied on imported genetically modified soybeans for 18 consecutive years, suddenly heard a piece of news that could be described as "earth-shattering": the United States Department of Agriculture claimed that due to weather conditions, U.S. soybean stocks had seriously failed to meet market demand.
The time when the United States announced "insufficient inventory" happened to be just before soybeans were launched, and it is unrealistic to look for alternatives during this time. Therefore, domestic financial giants in the United States took advantage of the news and opened a large number of positions for speculation, which instantly pushed the price of soybeans to a record high.
In order to maintain the normal operation of business, domestic oil merchants hurriedly went overseas to buy soybeans. In March 2004, Chinese oil merchants raised funds to snap up more than 8 million tons of soybeans at a price of 4,300 yuan/ton, which was nearly twice the domestic market price.
However, just after domestic manufacturers rushed to buy soybeans, the United States Department of Agriculture immediately announced that soybean stocks were sufficient and would increase soybean production in the future. This news almost hit the heads of Chinese manufacturers, but before they could recover, those financial tycoons who were speculating on soybean prices quickly went short and began selling soybeans in large quantities.
In just two months, the price of soybeans, which are urgently needed in the Chinese market, has experienced a Waterloo-style surge and plummet. Chinese oil merchants have turned from the initial expectation of profits to huge losses visible to the naked eye. Faced with losses that may continue to expand, Chinese manufacturers have no choice but to give up the high-priced soybeans they have already reserved.
However, at that time, a cargo ship could carry more than 50,000 tons of soybeans, and some could load almost 80,000 tons. When more than 8 million tons of soybeans were reserved, the purchase agreement had already been signed by both parties. If the contract was broken now, it would mean that the Chinese manufacturers would have to face compensation of up to 10 billion yuan.
As Marx said: "When capital comes to the world, every pore is dripping with blood and filth."
Chinese oil merchants did not expect that the amount of compensation was just a prelude to the storm, and what they had to face next was real "death."
Soon, the world's four largest grain merchants, jointly owned by the United States, collectively sued Chinese oil companies for breach of contract. Not only did they propose an additional compensation of more than 40 billion yuan, they also united with international manufacturers to block Chinese grain and oil companies and banned the international community from exporting soybeans to Chinese oil companies.
After this combination, China's soybean processing industry suffered losses across the board. Among the more than a thousand oil-extracting companies, except for a few state-owned enterprises that barely survived, the others were almost completely bankrupt. As a result, 90% of the grain and oil companies were acquired at low prices by the world's four largest grain merchants and other foreign-funded companies, and almost all control of the entire Chinese oil and grain industry chain was lost.
Repeating the same trick? But it was completely defeated by "Sinograin"
. It has tasted all the sweetness in China's soybean crisis, and it is difficult for American imperial capital to stop its greedy hands. In 2006, the United States wanted to replicate its "success" again, but changed the crops to wheat and corn.
But, will China fall twice in the same place?
When the world's four major grain merchants controlled by U.S. capital began to use their old tricks to drive up the prices of wheat and corn, they suddenly discovered that China's market was actually as stable as a rock.
The four major grain merchants are puzzled: Logically speaking, rising international crop prices will boost domestic exports and drive up domestic crop prices. But this time, no matter how much the international market speculates, the domestic market prices of wheat and corn in China have only risen symbolically by 0.7 times. Then, there is no sign of fluctuation. What is going on?
It turns out that China suffered losses from the soybean crisis and had been preparing to have backup options since 2004, in order to prevent it from being manipulated by American capital companies again.
Therefore, when international grain merchants led by the United States were ready to take action again in 2006, China began to use national grain reserves to sell off. As much as international grain merchants collect from the Chinese market at high prices, China's national grain depot will sell it at high prices. From the initial sell-off once every half month, to the sell-off once a week, and then the sell-off once in the last two days, China's warehouse called "Sinograin" is like a "bottomless pit". No matter how crazy the international market "absorbs", it can still catch and sell.This sell-off has lasted for more than two years, and the four major grain merchants have not been able to find out the bottom of China's grain reserves. In desperation, the four major grain merchants and state operatives had no choice but to run away despite huge losses.
On the day the four major grain merchants were defeated, Sinograin Group publicly announced: " China's grain reserves are 100 million tons, enough to feed the entire Chinese people for a year. Anyone who dares to speculate on grain should first consider whether they can eat 100 million tons."
In 2008, during the global financial crisis , China took advantage of the decline in global grain. In order to prevent the four major grain merchants from manipulating China's soybean industry again, it decisively reserved a large amount of soybeans, grain and oil, and also stipulated a protective price for grain to ensure that the purchase price in the domestic market would always be higher than the international market. This move was equivalent to giving reassurance to Chinese planting farmers.
As we all know, due to China’s large population, per capita arable land is very limited. Therefore, while China strictly adheres to the red line of 31.8 billion acres of cultivated land, it has always advocated land conservation. In 2016, under the leadership of Academician Yuan Longping, double-cropping rice in South China set a world record, with annual output reaching an astonishing 1,537 kilograms. Rice production has been effectively guaranteed, and the Ministry of Agriculture of China immediately announced a planting industry adjustment plan to increase China's soybean planting area to 140 million acres, and will gradually increase it every year in the future. It is not difficult to see that China’s move is aimed at reducing its dependence on imported soybeans and is also making efforts to protect China’s self-produced soybeans.
Conclusion
Times are changing, and the tides are rising. Although the experiences of the past have become history, we should never forget the past and be the teacher of the future. We should strengthen ourselves!
