China’s Food Security Strategy and Hispanic-American Agricultural Partnerships.

China’s sweeping efforts to bolster its food security increasingly rely on agricultural partnerships in Hispanic America, where countries like Brazil and Argentina serve as strategic suppliers of key commodities.

This paper analyzes how China’s overseas food strategy is reshaping global trade, the security motivations behind it, and the implications for the United States. It also examines China’s attempted farmland acquisitions in the U.S., which have sparked significant national security concerns and policy responses.

China’s food sourcing, both abroad and domestically, reflects a broader strategy to insulate itself from geopolitical shocks—especially a potential conflict with the United States. In turn, Washington faces the challenge of securing its own agricultural systems while countering China’s growing influence across the Western Hemisphere.

China’s drive to secure sufficient food for its 1.4 billion people has become a defining feature of its national strategy under President Xi Jinping. In recent years, Beijing has increasingly looked abroad—especially to resource-rich Hispanic America—to fortify its food supply in the face of rising consumption, domestic production constraints, and geopolitical uncertainties.

Hispanic America countries like Brazil and Argentina have emerged as critical agricultural partners, supplying China with soybeans, meat, corn, and other commodities at unprecedented volumes. These partnerships are not only reshaping global trade flows but are also viewed through a national security lens.

Chinese leaders often invoke the adage that the nation’s “rice bowl” must remain firmly in Chinese hands, underscoring that food security is a strategic issue linked to sovereignty and survival.

The authors examine how China is bolstering its food security by leveraging Hispanic America as an overseas breadbasket, the implications for China’s broader objectives (including preparation for potential war or geopolitical disruption), and whether Beijing’s moves pose challenges to U.S. food security. This paper also analyzes U.S. policy responses to China’s agricultural overtures in the Western Hemisphere and within its own territory.

China’s Food Security Strategy: Historical Context and Recent Developments.

Feeding the world’s most populous country has long been central to Chinese policymaking. As early as 1996, Beijing set a goal of 95% grain self-sufficiency in a food security white paper.

The importance of food self-reliance has only grown under President Xi. Between 2013 and 2024, Xi mentioned “food security” in over 450 speeches and meetings—a frequency reflecting intense concern.

This urgency stems from three interrelated challenges: surging food demand, constraints on domestic production, and reliance on foreign imports.

China’s rapid economic growth and rising incomes have fueled a dietary shift toward meat and dairy, multiplying the need for animal feed like soybeans. Yet China’s farmland is limited and under strain from urbanization, pollution, and erosion.

Arable land has shrunk by over 12 million hectares since 2009, and water scarcity further hampers farm output. These factors pushed China to become a net food importer in 2004 and, by 2021, the world’s largest food importer. In 2023, China spent an estimated $215 billion on food imports.

Chinese leaders increasingly view this import reliance as a strategic vulnerability. Xi has warned that if China cannot secure its own food supply, “we will be controlled by others,” implicitly linking food security to national security.

In response, Beijing has launched a multifaceted food security strategy, including the 2024 Food Security Law mandating grain self-sufficiency and penalizing the conversion of farmland. Authorities have even reversed reforestation efforts and converted urban parks into cropland.

The government’s “rural managers” (農管) squads have uprooted high-value cash crops like peppers and fruit trees to ensure staple grains are “grown everywhere,” echoing Mao-era campaigns. In a throwback to the Cultural Revolution, even college graduates are being dispatched to rural areas to till the land.

Beijing is also stockpiling enormous reserves. In 2023, China held more than half of global corn and wheat stocks and increased its grain stockpiling budget to $18.1 billion.

Analysts believe these moves signal not just food self-reliance but war-readiness. As Chang (2025) notes, Xi’s “obsessive drive” for food security reflects efforts to prepare for protracted geopolitical conflict, including a potential war with the United States.

Despite these efforts, China’s overall food self-sufficiency has dropped from 94% in 2000 to roughly 66% in 2020. Chinese officials have admitted that full autarky is not feasible, and instead rely on a diversified import strategy to fill gaps—especially for feed grains and proteins.

China’s Agricultural Investments and Partnerships in Hispanic America.

Hispanic America has emerged as China’s indispensable food source abroad, second only to—and in some respects supplanting—the United States. In 2023, Brazil alone accounted for about one-quarter of China’s agricultural imports.

The foundation of these ties is soybeans, a critical input for animal feed. Brazil, now the world’s top soybean exporter, sends over 70% of its soybean exports to China. In 2023, China imported 88 million tons of soybeans from Brazil. Brazil and Argentina together now routinely provide over 90% of China’s soybean imports, along with major shares of corn and beef.

Chinese firms are not merely passive buyers—they invest heavily in agricultural infrastructure. COFCO, China’s state grain trader, operates export terminals in the Port of Santos and co-finances railroads and logistics corridors linking Brazil’s soy belt to the Atlantic coast..

China has deliberately avoided overt “land grabs” in Hispanic America, preferring long-term contracts and co-investments that ensure a steady supply without triggering political backlash. This approach gives Beijing control without ownership—an increasingly common geoeconomic tactic.

Hispanic America Sourcing and China’s Broader Food Security Objectives.

Hispanic America allows China to “import land and water” indirectly by outsourcing the cultivation of feed-intensive crops. This supports Beijing’s domestic environmental goals while meeting consumer demand. President Xi has called for “building a diversified food supply system” with overseas sources playing a central role.

The U.S.-China trade war accelerated China’s pivot to Hispanic America. Tariffs imposed on U.S. farm goods in retaliation for U.S. tariffs under the first Trump administration prompted China to deepen agricultural ties with Brazil and Argentina.

Chinese planners also consider wartime contingencies. Hispanic America’s relative neutrality and geographic distance from likely conflict zones make it a safer long-term supplier. Meanwhile, port investments such as Peru’s Chancay port, food stockpiling, and logistical redundancies (including floating fish farms) underscore China’s contingency planning.

Impacts on U.S. Food Security and Strategic Interests.

China’s Hispanic America agricultural inroads have disrupted U.S. export markets. During the first trade war, U.S. farmers—especially in the Midwest—lost billions in export revenue due to retaliatory Chinese tariffs.

Beyond economics, China’s growing influence over Hispanic America logistics and supply chains poses a long-term strategic concern. Chinese state-owned firms now operate key agricultural chokepoints in the Western Hemisphere. The erosion of U.S. economic leadership in the region may translate into heavy geopolitical costs.

Washington also fears espionage and sabotage targeting U.S. agriculture. The FBI and DOJ have prosecuted multiple cases involving Chinese nationals accused of stealing U.S. seed technology and smuggling plant pathogens. As agriculture is now considered critical infrastructure, such threats are being taken more seriously.

U.S. Policy Responses and Counterstrategies.

The U.S. response has been multi-pronged:

1. Land and Investment Restrictions: States such as Arkansas and North Dakota have enacted laws prohibiting Chinese ownership of farmland near military installations.
2. Biosecurity and Intelligence Measures: The FBI and USDA are collaborating on counterintelligence programs to combat agricultural espionage.
3. Maintaining Competitiveness: Through agencies like the Development Finance Corporation, the U.S. is funding sustainable agriculture projects in Hispanic America.
4. International Coordination: The U.S. supports transparency in international grain stockpiling and climate-resilient farming to reduce global market volatility.

China’s Purchases of U.S. Farmland: Scope, Backlash, and National Security Implications.

While China’s agricultural strategy in Hispanic America has avoided land acquisition, the situation in the United States has been markedly different. As of 2021, Chinese entities owned approximately 383,000 acres of U.S. agricultural land, a figure that—while small—sparked widespread concern due to its proximity to military and strategic infrastructure.

A turning point came with the 2022 controversy over Fufeng Group’s proposed corn mill in North Dakota, just 12 miles from Grand Forks Air Force Base. The U.S. Air Force warned that the project posed “a significant threat to national security,” leading local officials to cancel the project.

States like Arkansas have forced divestment of Chinese-owned agricultural properties, such as land owned by Syngenta near sensitive areas. As of mid-2025, over 30 U.S. states have passed legislation restricting or banning foreign ownership of farmland, often specifically targeting Chinese entities.

At the federal level,  both the Biden and Trump administrations expanded CFIUS oversight to block agricultural land purchases near critical infrastructure. The 2024 NDAA codified these reviews, and an executive order in July 2025 added food system integrity as a factor in national security assessments.

Critics warn that Chinese entities may circumvent restrictions via shell companies or proxies. Others argue that even limited land ownership could be used for surveillance, biological disruption, or strategic leverage. In the context of worsening U.S.-China rivalry, American farmland is now viewed as a potential vulnerability.

China’s build-up of food security through Hispanic America partnerships—and selective U.S. farmland acquisitions—represents a critical element of its national resilience strategy. These moves serve economic, strategic, and political purposes, particularly as Beijing anticipates the risk of global conflict or trade disruption.

For the United States, the implications are profound. China’s agricultural diplomacy threatens U.S. export markets, weakens its traditional influence in Hispanic America, and raises domestic security concerns about land ownership and biotechnological espionage. Washington must act strategically, balancing defensive measures at home with proactive engagement abroad.

Ultimately, food security is no longer just an economic issue—it has become a key frontier in the 21st-century competition between great powers.