Driving away its scarecrows: An assessment of China’s food and water (in)security [Ahuyentando sus espantapájaros: Una evaluación de la (in)seguridad alimentaria e hídrica en China]

Abstract

This article aims to highlight the importance of the water and food issue in China. The main argument is that the water shortage and pollution in China, as well as the need to feed the most populous country in the world are, more than ever, unavoidable challenges to Beijing. The asymmetry in internal distribution of water resources, along with their shortage and pollution, necessarily affect the agricultural practice in China, which seeks urgent solutions. As proof of this, as we will try to demonstrate, the party has encouraged Chinese State-owned and private companies to a massive operation of land leasing and acquisition on a global scale, which does not always raises uniform reactions in host countries, as we will explain. We will finish with some geostrategic recommendations with regard to the management of Chinese food and water (in) security, highlighting, among others, the suffocating bureaucracy and the inefficiency of water governance in China. The qualitative method (hermeneutic analysis) is the methodology that will guide this investigation.