President Xi Jinping visited a seed laboratory in Sanya, South China’s Hainan Province on Sunday, where he reiterated that China’s grain security should be ensured with Chinese seeds.
President Xi visited Yazhou Bay Seed Laboratory to learn about seed industry innovation, the Xinhua News Agency reported. During the inspection, Xi stressed the role of seeds in ensuring grain security for the world’s most populous country, Xinhua reported.
To fill the rice bowls of the Chinese people and ensure the country’s grain security, China must hold seeds fast in its own hands, Xi said. He urged efforts to pursue agricultural technological breakthroughs to achieve self-dependence in the seed sector, which is a heavy task with strategic significance.
President Xi has raised this issue on multiple occasions, shedding light on where China’s seed industry is heading.
China has basically achieved seed self-sufficiency for two of its staple grains – rice and wheat. However, in terms of corn, another staple in China, the country remains partially dependent on imported seeds as the country’s corn breeding capabilities still lag behind international standards.
An autonomous crop-sowing vehicle with Beidou navigation system sows cotton seeds in a cotton field, Awat County, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, April 7, 2022. (Photo/China News Service)
