Two new documents released ahead of the Chinese government’s annual Two Sessions Summit have raised hopes of increased support for alternative proteins in the country.
As reported by GFI APAC, the first document is an official notice from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs outlining “Key Areas of National Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation” for 2024-2028. It identifies agricultural processing and food manufacturing as a priority, including research into novel foods to “create a new generation of food to meet new scenarios and special needs”.
The document also mentions the importance of agricultural product quality and safety, including studies to assess the safety and nutritional efficacy of alternative proteins and other novel resources. This could potentially accelerate the development of a regulatory approval framework for products like cultivated meat.
It is hoped that these mentions of novel foods could drive R&D funding towards alternative proteins and technologies such as microbiomics and AI, which can help to optimize food production processes.
No. 1 Central Document
The second notice, called the No. 1 Central Document, is published every February to outline priorities relating to agriculture, rural areas, and farmers. This year, it lists the policy goal of “Building a diversified food supply system,” with a specific mention of developing biological agriculture (agriculture enhanced by biotechnology) and exploring novel food resources.
The document also describes the need to expand food sources through multiple channels, including fungal and algae-based protein extraction. Furthermore, it calls for strengthened supervision of food safety and agricultural product quality, which could help establish consumer trust in new protein sources.
“Greater Food Approach”
The Chinese government previously announced its intention to reduce meat consumption by 50% by 2030, though it is unclear whether significant progress has been made toward this goal. In 2022, the country published a five-year agricultural plan which included cultivated meat for the first time. And earlier this year, China’s first new protein food technology innovation base was established in Beijing.
In response to last year’s Two Sessions summit, officials called for initiatives such as increased R&D funding, expedited regulatory approval processes, and stronger intellectual property protections for future-food producers. There were also requests to expand the country’s scientific talent pipeline to enable the scaling up of alternative protein development. However, it remains to be seen whether similar initiatives will be proposed this year.
“Viewed holistically, this multi-year cascade of announcements paints a
picture of a national government that sees clear value in leveraging
biotechnology to produce protein more efficiently — and believes that
doing so is increasingly critical to achieving what China calls its
‘Greater Food Approach’,” says GFI APAC.
