4) China’s spreading global reach
Growing Chinese infrastructure investments globally are creating connections for Chinese investors in agriculture and fisheries. China’s cornerstone Belt and Road initiative (also referred to as the “One Belt, One Road” foreign policy blueprint) has set the policy framework for the construction of ports, power plants, railways, and roads across Asia and Africa by Chinese construction firms, many of them state-run and backed by Chinese banks.
This has created a huge footprint which will be long-lasting and will bring Chinese food producers, traders, and retailers in their wake. This is largely what’s happening due to China’s presence on the Arabian Sea in Pakistan (where it’s engaged in multiple real estate projects) and its presence on the Indian Ocean in Sri Lanka (where China is also heavily engaged, including operating a major port) as well as developments along the West African coast, where Chinese companies are involved in a number of infrastructure projects, including fishery bases and ports. Earlier this year, China’s top fisheries official confirmed Beijing will seek aquaculture cooperation abroad rather than increasing volumes of seafood exports from China.
