State food security and people’s food sovereignty: competing visions of agriculture in China

This article examines reactions to global agribusiness concentration in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). In many countries, there is a trend of agribusiness concentration among relatively few multinational corporations (MNCs), which is often challenged by various forms of resistance from local food movements. The article identifies distinct overlap in discourses within the PRC. Arguments made by Chinese state/corporate actors and those by actors from alternative food movements focus on contesting global agricultural capital. These commonalities reveal a discursive battleground in China that creates unique constraints (and opportunities) for food activists, given state food security priorities.