Heilongjiang and China's Food Security

Chinese media reported Feb. 26 that ongoing drought in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang has damaged farmland. In recent years, China has worked to convert the province into a major agricultural area and give it a key role in the country's food security. However, population growth, rapid urbanization and environmental degradation will continue to challenge China's traditional grain centers' ability to meet demand, so Beijing increasingly will depend on Heilongjiang to make up the difference. As that dependence grows, and as Heilongjiang's linkages to the national grain market multiply, the consequences of drought there will become far more widespread.