Cultivating Competitiveness: North American Agricultural Competitiveness in an Era of Great Power Competition

China is one of the largest agricultural export markets for the United States and Canada particularly for soybeans, pork, and canola oil. But while China is often thought of as a consumer of agricultural products first and foremost, the PRC has and continues to adopt policies that have resulted in China achieving market dominance in key parts of the international food supply chain. Unlike the swaths of arable land that the United States, Mexico, and Canada have access to, China possesses only 7 to 9 percent of the world’s arable land, but it is home to nearly 20 percent of the global population, giving it an unmatched advantage in the production of labor-intensive crops like fruits and vegetables. China’s ambition to become self-sufficient, and tactics to capture and dominate certain export markets continues to disrupt markets and create vulnerabilities in U.S. supply chains, particularly of products like vitamins, amino acids, honey, garlic, crawfish, mushrooms, as well as many agricultural chemicals. Furthermore, the PRC’s “Made in China 2025” blueprint to gain dominance in specific sectors such as biomanufacturing and agricultural technology and equipment. This panel seeks to assess the current state of agricultural competition between North America and China, and identify areas of collaboration between the United States, Canada, and Mexico to build resilience and increase competitiveness in the agricultural sector.

To register to attend the conference, please visit: Cultivating Competitiveness: Positioning North America as a Strategic Agricultural Bloc | CSIS Events.

This conference is made possible through the generous support of the Corn Refiners Association. Additional sponsors include the American Farm Bureau Federation, Biotechnology Innovation Organization, Constellation Brands, Corteva Inc., and Driscoll's, Inc.