Despite the recent recession in China, the demand for imported food is steady. The economy is cooling to double digit growth. China is seeing a transformation from an agrarian economy. The declining factory output, stock market crash and the housing bubble is not diminishing the enthusiasm of leaders to feed around 1.4 billion people. The transformation started 30 years back with over hundred million people was lifted out of poverty and the economy is rising taking the position of the world power. The ultimate goal is to spread the wealth of the industrial coastal regions to the mainland as well as the rural areas. This increases spending power and innovations.

Since the 1970s the economy of China has improved drastically. The coastal cities

are the major beneficiaries of state sponsored capitalism. This has changed the standard of living in the urban areas that include imported food that were considered unaffordable by the Chinese homes earlier. The growth rate is declining and the responsibility of Chinese leaders to sustain the consumer demand and preserve the social order is important. The challenges that China confronts in the next 3 decades is great. The economic reforms are yet to reach the inland and western parts of China. The household registration system restricts new migrants and new homes.

They decide on the locally administered subsidies like education, housing, and health care. This makes the choice for rural residents difficult. The food choices are changing with the income rising and imported food. The migration from rural to the urban area has transformed the food habits. The US is the prime food provider for China, and it is followed by Brazil, Thailand, Australia, Malaysia, Canada and Argentina in supporting the world’s largest population. China is unable to meet the demands of the local population that imports food from Australia, especially fisheries, forestry and agriculture.