当全球超6亿人仍面临饥饿威胁，极端天气、地缘冲突持续冲击世界粮食体系，绵延五千年的中华文明，正以历久弥新的粮食文化智慧，回应着全人类共同的生存命题。

中国人对粮食安全的执念，源于几千年来文明积淀中形成的生存记忆与制度传统。

中华文明发源于大江大河冲积平原，祖先很早就进入定居的农耕社会。如果没有稳定的粮食来源与足量的粮食储备，就不可能有安稳的生活，更谈不上文明的延续与发展。距今七千年前的仰韶文化，先民就已经挖掘窖穴储存粮食；到商周时期，国家仓储制度初步成型。

中国古代的仓储制度，系统完备、传承有序，在很长一段时间里都处于世界领先地位。公元前54年，西汉官员耿寿昌创立常平仓制度，由国家在丰年粮价走低时加价收储、在灾年粮价上涨时减价抛售，通过动态调节平抑粮价、保障民生。后世不断迭代完善这种粮食管理思路，逐步发展出民间互助性质的义仓、扎根乡村基层的社仓，官方与民间互为补充，织就了一张覆盖全国的粮食安全防护网。这张网是常态下的积累支撑，也是风险中的托底保障。古人很早就提出“耕三余一”的理念，即耕种三年要留存一年余粮，这种善于积累的习惯是农业社会的基础。另外，中国自然灾害频发，“居安思危，有备无患”成了中国人刻在骨子里的忧患意识，一座粮仓就能稳住一方人心。

判断一种文明的成熟度，不能只看宫殿是否巍峨、城墙是否坚固，还要看具备多大的民生托底能力。中国历史上朝代更迭，但建仓、储粮、保障稳定的传统代代相传。这份持续稳定的粮食供给与系统完备的储备制度，是中华文明之所以能成为世界上唯一未曾中断的古老文明的重要物质基石。其中“以丰补歉、居安思危”的治理智慧，也已融入中国的治国基因。

储粮为了什么？2700多年前的政治家管仲给出了答案：“仓廪实则知礼节”。仓廪实而国基稳，方能涵养文脉、精进百工，为文明赓续向上筑牢根基：百姓衣食丰足，则知礼谦让、胸怀家国；国家储粮充盈、秩序安定，自能秉持包容，尽显大国开放担当。纵观华夏史册，但凡国力鼎盛之朝，无一不是中外交流繁荣之时，这份从容开阔的大国气象，根源便在于仓廪充实、民生安定。

正是出于对“仓廪实则知礼节”的认知，中国守住粮食安全，守的不只是一顿饭，更是文明安身立命的根基。历史经验与文化认知回答了“为什么重视”的问题，而现实国情则决定了“不得不重视”的问题。中国以不到全球9%的耕地和6%的水资源，养活近20%的人口。这反映出中国所承担的资源压力，也凸显出中国粮食治理的难能可贵。

不少国家的粮食高度依赖国际贸易，但国际市场往往波动较大。中国的思路很明确：立足国内，筑牢底线，手中有粮，心中不慌。先办好自己的事，守住自身粮食安全底线，在此基础上开展国际合作、共同应对全球风险。

基于历史经验、文化认知与现实约束，中国建立起一套从田间到餐桌、从储备到法治的全链条粮食安全保障体系。

在储备层面，古代的传统常平仓演变为今天中央与地方两级联动的粮食储备体系，发展为粮食最低收购价、储备粮吞吐调节等调控机制，标准仓房完好仓容超7.3亿吨，治理内核一脉相承，保障体系却更加完备高效。在生产层面，“藏粮于地、藏粮于技”战略深入推进，中国严守18亿亩耕地红线，粮食总产量连续多年稳定在1.3万亿斤以上，2025年中国农业科技进步贡献率超过64%。在法治层面，随着《中华人民共和国粮食安全保障法》的施行，中国的粮食安全从政策主张上升为法治保障与国家意志，成为全世界瞩目的焦点，也进一步保障中国人的饭碗牢牢端在了自己手里。

20世纪90年代，美国人莱斯特•布朗曾提出“谁来养活中国”的疑问。数十年间，中国持续加码储备基础设施建设、不断完善粮食市场调控体系，建成完备高效的粮食安全保障网络，用实实在在的发展给出有力答案：中国人靠自己养活了自己。当前，中国的口粮自给率在100%以上，谷物自给率在95%以上，人均粮食占有量约480公斤，高于国际公认的400公斤粮食安全线，牢牢守住口粮绝对安全底线。这份沉甸甸的底气，是中国几千年重农重储传统的延续，是国家长期稳定投入的结果，是农业科技持续进步的支撑，更是亿万农民辛勤劳作的结晶。而且，中国在保障自身仓廪充实的同时，还积极参与国际粮食安全治理，通过南南合作等方式，力所能及地帮助其他发展中国家提升粮食生产能力与民生保障能力，生动体现了人类命运共同体理念与大国担当。

中国还通过减少损耗变相增产，确保粮食安全。联合国公布的数据显示，世界各地所有家庭每天浪费的食物总量超过10亿餐。中国自古就有节粮惜物的传统。每个中国孩子从小熟背“谁知盘中餐，粒粒皆辛苦”的诗句以及“一粥一饭，当思来处不易”的古训，“光盘行动”近年来更成为全社会自觉践行的生活方式。这份对粮食的敬畏、对劳动的尊重，对于正在应对全球粮食危机的国际社会而言，同样具有普遍意义。

当然，中国粮食安全也面临新的挑战。随着居民消费结构升级，饲料粮和大豆进口依存度较高的问题日益突出。对此，中国正在推动“大食物观”转型，从传统耕地资源向整个国土资源拓展，发展设施农业、合成生物蛋白等新赛道，构建多元化食物供给体系。同时，中国也在积极参与全球粮食贸易治理，推动构建更加公平合理的国际粮食贸易秩序。

从七千年前的地下窖穴到今天的智能化粮仓；从春秋时期的治国箴言到新时代的粮食安全保障法，中国对粮食安全的执着，本质上是一个超大规模文明在历史经验与现实约束下形成的理性选择。它既关乎14亿人的饭碗，也关乎一个古老文明走向复兴的底气与自信。守住粮仓，就是守住生存底线，守住发展根基，守住了应对一切不确定性的最大确定性。这，就是中国如此重视粮食安全的核心答案。

Why China Unwaveringly Prioritizes Food Security？

Over 600 million people worldwide still face the threat of hunger. Extreme weather and geopolitical conflicts continue to disrupt the global food system. Drawing on its 5000-year-old civilization and its time-tested food governance wisdom, China responds to this shared survival challenge confronting humanity.

Chinese people’s enduring commitment to food security is rooted in millennia of survival experience and institutional traditions.

Chinese civilization originated on the alluvial plains of major rivers where ancestors developed settled farming societies at an early stage. Stable livelihoods and the very continuity of civilization would have been impossible without reliable food supplies and sufficient grain reserves. As early as 7000 years ago during the Yangshao Culture, people dug cellars for grain storage. By the Shang and Zhou dynasties, the state-run grain reserve system had taken shape.

China’s ancient grain storage system was systematic, well-inherited and led the world for centuries. In 54 BCE, Western Han official Geng Shouchang established the Ever-Normal Granary system. In bumper years with low market prices, the state purchased grain to prop up prices; in famine years with soaring prices, it released stored grain for sale at stable rates. This dynamic adjustment stabilized prices and safeguarded people’s livelihoods. Successive generations refined this approach. They developed community granaries for mutual aid and village-level public granaries. Complementary official and private storage systems formed a nationwide food security network capable of providing routine backup and crisis safeguards. Ancient Chinese people proposed the idea of “maintaining one year’s surplus from three consecutive harvests”– reserving grain equivalent to one year’s consumption after three years of farming. This habit of saving was a foundational trait of traditional agricultural society. Coupled with frequent natural disasters across China’s history, the mindset of “being vigilant in times of peace” became deeply ingrained. Local granaries stabilized public confidence across regions.

A civilization's maturity lies not merely in its palaces or city walls, but in its ability to sustain ordinary people’s lives. Though dynasties rose and fell throughout Chinese history, the tradition of building granaries, stockpiling grain, and maintaining stability endured. Steady food supplies and sound reserve systems are core material foundations that enabled China to become the world’s only uninterrupted ancient civilization. The governance wisdom of “offsetting scarcity with abundance and preparing for risk in peacetime”has long been embedded in China’s institutional DNA.

What is grain storage for? More than 2,700 years ago, statesman Guan Zhong offered a timeless insight: A full granary fosters civility. Ample grain reserves underpin national stability nurture cultural refinement, and bolster the prosperity of all trades. They lay a solid foundation for civilizational prosperity. When people have enough food and clothing, they cultivate propriety, modesty, and a sense of national responsibility. When a state enjoys ample grain reserves and stable stability, it can embrace inclusiveness and exercise major-country responsibility. Throughout Chinese history, every golden age of national strength coincided with flourishing exchanges with the outside world– an open and confident major-country demeanor rooted in abundant grain and secure livelihoods.

Guided by the wisdom that “full granaries foster civility”, China safeguards food security not merely to feed its population, but to protect the very foundation of its civilization. This commitment stems from both historical and cultural heritage and pressing national realities. With less than 9% of the world’s arable land and 6% of global freshwater resources, China sustains nearly 20% of the world’s population. This shows China’s immense resource pressures and remarkable achievements in food governance.

Many countries rely heavily on international food trade which is inherently volatile. By contrast, China adheres to a clear strategic principle: self-reliance first to consolidate its fundamental security baseline. As the saying goes, “Grain in hand keeps worries away”, China prioritizes securing its own food supply before engaging in international cooperation to address global food risks.

Integrating historical experience, cultural heritage, and practical constraints, China has built a full-chain food security system covering production, distribution, reserves, and legal safeguards.

On the reserve front, the ancient Ever-Normal Granary system has evolved into today’s dual central-local reserve framework supplemented by policy tools such as minimum purchase prices and dynamic reserve adjustments. China’s standardized grain warehouses boast a total capacity of over 730 million tonnes. While inheriting its core governance logic, the modern system is more complete and efficient. On the production front, the strategy of “storing grain in farmland and technology” has been thoroughly implemented. China strictly protects its 120 million hectares of arable land, keeping annual grain output above 650 million tonnes for years running. In 2025, agricultural sci-tech progress contributes over 64% to China’s agricultural output growth. On the legal front, the promulgation and implementation of the Food Security Law has further institutionalized the strategy of “storing grain in farmland and technology”. China’s food security has risen from policy guidance to statutory guarantee and national strategic will, drawing global attention and enabling the Chinese people to firmly hold their own rice bowls

In the 1990s, American scholar Lester R. Brown raised a question, “Who will feed China?” Over the past decades, China has expanded storage infrastructure and improved market regulation which has yielded a complete, efficient food security network and delivered a powerful answer:The Chinese people feed themselves through their own hard work

Today, China’s staple food self-sufficiency rate exceeds 100%and its overall grain self-sufficiency rate stands above 95%, Per capita grain availability is around 480 kilograms, well above the internationally recognized food security threshold of 400 kilograms, China has firmly secured the absolute security of staple foods. This solid confidence originates from China’s millennia-long tradition of valuing farming and grain reserves, sustained state investment, continuous progress in agricultural technology, and the hard work of hundreds of millions of farmers. Moreover, while securing its own food supply, China actively participates in global food security governance. Through South-South cooperation and other platforms, it supports other developing countries in improving grain production and livelihood security within its capabilities, embodying the vision of a community with a shared future for humanity and China’s major-country responsibility.

China also bolsters food supply security by cutting food waste. UN data shows that households worldwide squander over one billion meals every day. China has upheld a tradition of grain conservation for millennia. From an early age, every Chinese child learns the classic verse: “Who knows that every single grain on the plate comes from hard toil?” as well as the old adage: “Cherish every porridge and rice, for each comes from strenuous labor”. In recent years, the “Clear Your Plate” campaign has taken root across Chinese society. This profound respect for grain and labor holds universal value for the global community grappling the ongoing food crisis

Admittedly, China’s food security still faces new challenges. As resident consumption continues to upgrade, the country’s reliance on imported feed grain and soybeans has become increasingly pronounced. To address such risks, China is adopting an all-encompassing approach to food. It expands food production boundaries beyond traditional farmland to cover all land resources, develops protected agriculture, synthetic protein, and other emerging sectors, and builds a diversified food supply system. Meanwhile, China actively engages in global food trade governance to promote a fairer and more equitable international trade order

From grain storage pits 7,000 years ago to smart granaries today, and from governance precepts of the Spring and Autumn Period to the Food Security Law of the new era, China’s enduring commitment to food security is a rational choice made by a mega-scale civilization based on historical experience and practical constraints. It safeguards the livelihood of 1.4 billion people and underpins the confidence of an ancient civilization on its path to rejuvenation. Securing grain reserves means securing the survival baseline, consolidating the foundation of development, and fostering the greatest certainty amid global uncertainties. This captures the core rationale behind China’s unwavering emphasis on food security.