Contemporary changes in regional specialisation of farming in PRC (1990–2018)

Aim. Identifying the changes and factors in the allocation of China's major farming industries by analyzing statistical data for PRC provinces from 1990 to 2018.

Methodology. The analysis of data on the dynamics of the territorial concentration of agriculture is based on the calculation of the index of localization of sown areas of crops by provinces, autonomous regions and cities of central subordination. The dynamics of the sown area of China's main agricultural crops in 1990-2018 was analyzed: rice, wheat, corn, soybeans, rapeseed, peanuts, sunflower, sugar cane, sugar beet, tobacco and tea, as well as aggregated data on root and tubers, other vegetable and fruit crops.

Results. The analysis showed that the regions in the north and south-east of China differ in narrower specialization. In the whole country, the production of fruits, vegetables, cereals and peanuts was characterized by the lowest level of territorial concentration.

Research implications. The results of the study allow us to conclude that China is increasingly integrating into the global system of agricultural areas, while these changes in the location of the main branches of agriculture significantly affect the transformation of the entire global system. Changes in the specialization of PRC farming at the national and regional levels can in positive and negative ways effect China’s import of Russian agricultural products.

1. Boni L. D. Kitayskaya derevnya na puti k rynku [Chinese village on the way to the market]. Moscow, iFES RAS Publ., 2005. 526 p.

2. Gao Tianming, Erokhin V. L., ivolga A. G. [China's policy in the field of ensuring food security: modern challenges]. in: Vestnik APK Stavropolya [Bulletin of the agro-industrial complex of Stavropol], 2018, no. 1, pp. 111–116.

3. Aiqi Li, Zhao Min, Savelyev i. E., Makarova-Korobaynikova E. P. [State and private property in the agro-industrial complex of China]. in: Vestnik Altayskoy akademii ekonomiki i prava [Bulletin of the Altai Academy of Economics and Law], 2019, no. 6-1, pp. 11–16.

4. Zaklyazminskaya E. o. [Risks and threats to China's food security]. in: Vestnik Sankt-Peterburgskogo universiteta. Nauki o Zemle [Modern Asia: politics, economics, society], 2023, no. 1, pp. 42–57. Doi: 10.48647/iCCA.2023.48.33.004

5. Marmol Fundora E. [Transformation of Cuban Agriculture in the Late 20th – Early 21st Centuries]. in: Vestnik Sankt-Peterburgskogo universiteta. Nauki o Zemle [Bulletin of St. Petersburg University. Earth Sciences], 2022, no. 1, pp. 114–137.

6. Naumov A. S. [Global Specialization of Agriculture and Main Regions of Production of Basic Agricultural Crops in the Countries of the World]. in: Geografiya v shkole [Geography in School], 2016, no. 3, pp. 15–26.

7. Naumov A. S. [Regional Paradigm in the Geography of World Agriculture: History and Modernity]. in: Regionalnyye issledovaniya [Regional Studies], 2015, no. 2, pp. 15–25.

8. Naumov A. S. [Modern Development of Regions of Specialized Agriculture in Foreign Countries]. in: Vestnik Moskovskogo universiteta. Seriya 5. Geografiya [Bulletin of Moscow University. Series 5: Geography], 2012, no. 2, pp. 40–48.

9. Naumov A. S., Rubanov i. N. [Comparative characteristics of regional concentration of agriculture in Russia and the USA]. in: Vestnik Moskovskogo universiteta. Seriya 5: Geografiya [Bulletin of Moscow University. Series 5: Geography], 2001, no. 4, pp. 24–32.

10. Potaev V. S. [China's agriculture: reforms, status and prospects]. in: Vestnik Buryatskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta [Bulletin of the Buryat State University], 2014, no. 3, pp. 59–64.

11. Chubarov i. G. [Problems and prospects of Chinese urbanization]. in: Aziya i Afrika segodnya [Asia and Africa today], 2017, no. 7, pp. 21–27.

12. Chubarov i. G. [Development of Chinese cities within the framework of the state program "new type urbanization"]. in: Problemy Dalnego Vostoka [Problems of the Far East], 2022, no. 1, pp. 139–148. Doi: 10.31857/S013128120017798-8

13. Liu Yansui. introduction to land use and rural sustainability in China. in: Land Use Policy, 2018, vol. 74, pp. 1–4. Doi: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2018.01.032

14. Bai Chong-En, Tao Zhigang and Tong Yueting. Bureaucratic integration and regional specialization in China. in: China Economic Review, 2008, vol. 19, iss. 2, pp. 308–319. Doi:10.1016/j.chieco.2006.11.005

15. Carter C. A., Lohmar B. Regional Specialization of China's Agricultural Production. in: American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 2002, vol. 84-3, pp. 749–753. Doi: 10.1111/1467-8276.00332

16. Chen Zhuo, Song Shunfeng. Efficiency and technology gap in China's agriculture: A regional meta-frontier analysis. in: China Economic Review, 2008, Vol. 19. iss. 2. P. 287–296. Doi: 10.1016/j.chieco.2007.03.001

17. Cao Zhi, Liu Yansui, Li Yurui. Rural transition in the loess hilly and gully region: From the perspective of “flowing” cropland. in: Journal of Rural Studies, 2022, vol. 93, pp. 326–335. Doi: 10.1016/j.jrurstud.2019.04.003

18. Feng Weilun, Liu Yansui, Qu Lulu. Effect of land-centered urbanization on rural development: A regional analysis in China. in: Land Use Policy, 2019, vol. 87. Doi: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.104072

19. Liu Yansui, Zhang Ziwen, Wang Jieyong. Regional differentiation and comprehensive regionalization scheme of modern agriculture in China. in: Acta Geographica Sinica, 2018. Vol. 73. iss. 2. P. 203–219. Doi: 10.11821/dlxb201802001

20. Liu Yansui, Zang Yuzhu, Yang Yuanyuan. China’s rural revitalization and development: Theory, technology and management. in: Journal of Geographical Sciences, 2020, vol. 30, pp. 1923–1942. Doi: 10.1007/s11442-020-1819-3

21. Lu Zheng, Deng Xiang. Regional specialization: new methods of measurement and the trends in China 1987–2007. in: Applied Econometrics and International Development, 2017, vol. 17, iss. 2, pp. 119–140.

22. Ma Meilin, Steinbach S., Wu Junqian. A Study on Regional Specialization of China’s Agricultural Production: Recent Trends and Drivers. in: Asian Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development, 2014, vol. 2, iss. 4, pp. 113–127. Doi: 10.22004/ag.econ.198390

23. Renard M.-F. China and its regions: economic growth and reform in Chinese provinces. Edward Elgar Publisher, 2002. 368 p.

24. Su Minzi. The Role of foreign investment in China’s land-use policy. in: Asian Perspective, 2005, vol. 29, iss. 2, pp. 99–131. Doi: 10.1353/apr.2005.0020

25. Zhou Yang, Guo Liying, Liu Yansui. Land consolidation boosting poverty alleviation in China: Theory and practice. in: Land Use Policy, 2019, vol. 82, pp. 339–348. Doi: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2018

26. Zhou Yang, Li Xunhuan, Liu Yansui. Cultivated land protection and rational use in China. in: Land Use Policy, 2021, vol. 106. Doi: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2021.105454

27. Zhou Yang, Liu Yansui. The geography of poverty: Review and research prospects. in: Journal of Rural Studies, 2022, vol. 93, pp. 408–416. Doi: 10.1016/j.jrurstud.2019.01.008