China is a key player in international trade, and imported commodities are central to the country’s economy, and its food security. China has the chance to use its role as a leading actor in promoting cooperation and development in commodity producer countries to drive sustainable agriculture systems and resilient supply chains. A key move would be to put in place safeguards to eliminate deforestation from the production of key forest-risk commodities such as soy.
This report explores how China can better align its international cooperation and trade activities to green development policies and reinforce its role as a global environmental leader. By doing so, China has the potential to greatly influence the sustainability of global agriculture and food supply chains, while meeting national demand for imported soy, guaranteeing the country’s food security, and reducing pressure on forests in producer countries.
The report provides three key recommendations:
- Increase investments in sustainable agriculture, in alignment with producer countries’ development plans.
- Enhance corporate transparency by expanding the recommendations of the Belt and Road Ecological and Environmental Cooperation Plan, including mainstreaming corporate reporting of companies engaged in imports of forests risks commodities.
- Reduce deforestation by promoting sustainable agriculture under bilateral and multilateral collaboration mechanisms.