How is China able to provide enough food to feed its population of over 1 billion people? Do they import food or are they self-sustainable?

中国是怎么生产足够的粮食养活超过10亿人口的？ 是依靠粮食进口还是自给自足？

以下是Quora读者的评论：

Roy Chambers

While China’s land is 20 to 30% arable, their ability with farming means that they are a net exporting of produce. Where China was importing was because many regional areas grew local varieties of crops. So in the north the corn could be yellow, white, purple or speckled. In the far south I have had sweet corn that was so sweet it was like eating candy. They were importing because industrial farming and food processing is all about consistent quality.

Another note is China is one of the few places in the world that successfully does fish farming. Of course they have been doing this for 2000 years. Their farming culture is often very efficient in terms of land use, though not in terms of labour use.

In recent years the growing suburbs around the cities have put pressure on land use and they are losing a lot of farm land. In addition the growing wealth means that they eat more meat, which is far less efficient.

China has taken steps to secures its own food supply by buying land around the world, in particular in Africa. But China doesn’t need to import food as such, it just needs to ensure food supply for the future and in times of disasters like flood and drought.

中国的可耕种土地只有国土面积的20%到30%，不过耕种能力意味着他们会是农产品的净出口国。中国进口的农产品是许多地区种植的本地品种的农作物。所以在北方，玉米有黄色的、白色的、紫色的或花色的。在遥远的南方，我吃过甜玉米，甜得像在吃糖果。他们进口农产品是因为工业化农业和食品加工需要保证质量。

另一个值得注意的是，中国是世界上少数几个成功进行鱼类养殖的地方之一。当然，他们在2000年前就成功做到了。他们的农业文化在土地利用方面通常是非常高效的，尽管在劳动力利用方面并不太高效。

近年来，城市周边日益发展的郊区给土地利用带来了压力，他们正在失去大批农田。此外，不断增长的财富意味着他们食用更多的肉，但肉类养殖还没那么高效。

中国已经采取措施，通过在世界各地购买土地，特别是在非洲购买土地，来确保自己的粮食供应。中国不需要进口粮食，它只需要确保未来的粮食供应，应对洪水和干旱等自然灾害。

Vyndar Lothar, lived in China (2008-2011)

China’s 1.4 billion people are building up an appetite that is changing the way the world grows and sells food. The Chinese diet is becoming more like that of the average American, forcing companies to scour the planet for everything from bacon to bananas.

But China’s efforts to buy or lease agricultural land in developing nations show that building farms and ranches abroad won’t be enough. Ballooning populations in Asia, Africa and South America will add another 2 billion people within a generation and they too will need more food.

That leaves China with a stark ultimatum: If it is to have enough affordable food for its population in the second half of this century, it will need to make sure the world grows food for 9 billion people.

Its answer is technology.

中国14亿人口正在改变世界粮食种植和销售方式。中国人的饮食结构正变得越来越像普通美国人，这迫使企业在全球范围内搜刮从培根到香蕉等各种食品。

但中国在发展中国家购买或租赁农地的努力表明，仅在海外建设农场和牧场是不够的。亚洲、非洲和南美洲不断膨胀的人口将在一代人的时间里再增加20亿人，他们也将需要更多的食物。

这给中国留下了一个严峻的考验：如果中国要在本世纪下半叶为其人口提供足够的负担得起的粮食，就必须确保全世界种植的粮食能供应90亿的人口。

答案是技术。

Carolyn Patton, former Retired teacher , economics World History US Hist at Detroit Public Schools (1984-2009)

They have been buying agricultural products from us , exclusively until the Donald started the tariff game now the are courting the world for agricultural products . Soy beans are a good example , the Chinese are now looking for markets in South America , Sub Sahara Africa and both Eastern and Western Europe. The farmers in the United States are going to be hurt by this move because they know their price will be under cut by the South American , and the African countries and that market will be lost and gone forever. China does not have enough land to feed all of its population so now since they are no longer destitute they can afford to buy food on cheaper markets . Guess the US farmers will have to start growing weed. The President doesn't understand that when America was great back in the day was because everybody else was broke and hungry. Now the only broke and hungry people on this planet are those caught in a war, such as in Yemen. So when you take your ball and go home nobody gets upset ,the game keeps on going because they all have a ball to play with. The United States is going to have to start treating nonwhite people as human beings and not something other than . Because they are the ones with the wealth not the Europeans.

听到花儿就想家（玉萨）

为国也为家（李丹阳）