Lobster farming in Song Cau, Vietnam, in December. About 90% of Song Cau’s lobster output gets shipped to China.
Photographer: Maika Elan/BloombergChina Is Scouring the Globe in Search of New Food Suppliers
The country has made substantial efforts to future-proof itself for trade wars and the return of Donald Trump.
China’s quest to feed itself has taken it as far as Kenya’s macadamia nut groves and Bolivia’s cattle ranches, as part of a push in recent years to diversify food sources away from traditional Western suppliers.
The market-share loss for US-allied nations is a win for countries from the Global South, which Beijing has sought to court as geopolitics increasingly cleaves the world into distinct blocs. There are obvious beneficiaries like crop powerhouse Brazil, which has clawed market share in corn and soybean exports from the US, while Russia is selling more grains, edible oils and meat to China.