Farmland, Farming and Food in the National Economy of China, 1947–2020: A Framework for Understanding China's Agricultural Track Record and Food Security

Jane Du's research offers a concise yet analytically rich account of China's agricultural transformation from the eve of the People's Republic (1947) to the present day (2020). Positioned at the intersection of economic and agricultural history, Du frames agriculture not as an isolated sector but as a vital engine of national development shaped by ideological imperatives, industrialization and urbanization goals, and the evolving pressures of global trade and domestic food security.The book's central thesis is clear: Agriculture has consistently served as the backbone of China's economic development, largely through its exploitation to support industrial expansion. This policy of “systemically squeezing” rural China, particularly visible under Mao Zedong's leadership, created a powerful but often tragic dynamic in which the food sector bore the weight of the country's modernization ambitions (15). The long-term consequence of this model is seen in China's increasing emphasis on food security in recent decades.To develop this argument, Du adopts a chronological structure divided into three major phases. Chapter 1 focuses on the Maoist era of collectivization (1949–78), while chapter 2 examines the post-1978 Dengist reforms, including decollectivization and the creation of the dual-track system. The final three chapters address the third phase, under the Hu-Wen and Xi administrations, when China became increasingly reliant on global trade and food imports. Unlike the earlier chapters, these later ones are not explicitly organized around leadership periods, which creates a slight inconsistency in structure.Building on this framework, Du provides substantial data and analysis to outline a clear picture of agriculture's evolving role in China's economy. She is particularly careful in her treatment of statistical sources, openly acknowledging the unreliability and political filtering of Chinese data, especially during the Mao era. To manage this, she treats domestic statistics as “indicators of trends” rather than precise figures, and she supplements them with international datasets for cross-validation (25).One of Du's most innovative contributions is her concept of “ghost resources”—a term used to describe the invisible land, water, and labor embedded in imported agricultural products such as soy and maize (109). These virtual inputs, sourced primarily from the Americas, have become essential to China's food system but are often overlooked in discussions of food security and self-sufficiency. Du uses detailed data and visualizations to show how this dependency reveals structural vulnerabilities that are masked by otherwise stable domestic grain output.There are three main concerns with the book. First, there is a structural omission: The Jiang Zemin era is completely absent. While often considered transitional, this period played a significant role in deepening market reforms and reshaping rural governance in the 1990s. Second, the tone of the book is occasionally inconsistent. Du takes a revisionist approach in her discussion of the Mao era, placing early agrarian policies within the broader context of the Japanese invasion, the Chinese Civil War, Cold War geopolitics, and environmental constraints. This framing resists the tendency to assign simplistic blame to Mao. However, in other parts of the book, terms such as “authoritarian” are used without sufficient critical reflection, drawing on external ideological assumptions that are not fully unpacked (135). Finally, Du relies heavily on central government policy and national-level statistics. While this top-down, macro-level approach ensures clarity and coherence, it limits engagement with regional variation, local government actions, or peasant agency. For instance, uneven implementation of policies or ecological differences across provinces receive little attention. Although the national focus supports a strong narrative arc, it risks flattening the complexity and diversity of China's agricultural experience.Despite some structural omissions and analytical tensions, Farmland, Farming and Food in the National Economy of China, 1947–2020 is a valuable contribution to both economic and agricultural history. Du skillfully situates Chinese agricultural policy within a wider landscape of ideological, geopolitical, and environmental forces, offering readers a coherent narrative of how agriculture has been mobilized to serve broader state objectives. Her transparent engagement with contested data and her introduction of the “ghost resources” concept make the book particularly relevant to scholars concerned with global food systems and rural development. Although the book's national, top-down focus may limit its appeal to those seeking local detail, Du's work provides a strong foundation for understanding the institutional and historical logics that continue to shape China's food economy. It will be especially useful for students and researchers new to the field as well as for scholars interested in the long-term entanglement of agriculture, industry, and the state in modern China.