China’s food and energy security would not be compromised if the country were to halt purchases of grain and fuel from the United States, said Zhao Chenxin, Deputy Director of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), at a press conference. “The Chinese people’s rice bowl is firmly held in their own hands,” he said. China is fully capable of ensuring basic self-sufficiency in grain and a stable energy supply, Zhao said, as Beijing reasserted its ability to withstand a confrontation with the U.S. that has seen both sides raise tariffs on each other’s imports by more than 120 percentage points in recent weeks. Agricultural products and fuel were among America’s largest exports to China before the tariff war effectively brought trade to a standstill, along with hi-tech products such as semiconductors and aircraft. But China has diversified its food and energy imports in recent years to reduce its dependence on the U.S., making the country less vulnerable to a freeze in American imports.
In 2024, imports of sorghum, corn and soybeans from the U.S. only accounted for a “small share” of China’s total grain consumption, and most of those imports were for use in animal feed. “These products are highly replaceable and the international market has abundant supplies,” Zhao said. “Besides, China has sufficient grain reserves. Even if China stops purchasing feed grain and oilseeds from the U.S., it will not affect China’s food supply.” Brazil was by far China’s largest supplier of soybeans last year, with exports totaling nearly USD36.5 billion, followed by the U.S. at just over USD12 billion, according to Chinese Customs data. The U.S. was China’s top source of sorghum imports, with shipments surpassing USD1.7 billion, and the third-largest source of corn imports behind Brazil and Ukraine.
China also only relies on the U.S. for a small share of its energy needs, Zhao added. “China has diverse sources of energy imports. The international energy market has sufficient supplies. Chinese companies’ reduction or suspension of energy imports from the U.S. will not affect China’s domestic energy supply,” according to Zhao. In 2024, 5.4% of China’s total imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) came from the U.S., while it relied on the country for about 2% of its imports of coal and crude oil, the South China Morning Post reports.
