China pushes self-sufficiency amid US tariff threat

Chinese policymakers published a document that emphasized agricultural self-sufficiency and food security, as Beijing works to bolster the country’s flagging domestic economy and limit the impact of US tariffs.

The move follows Chinese President Xi Jinping’s meeting last week with the country’s top entrepreneurs, outreach that analysts said aimed to signal Beijing’s commitment to bolstering the private sector.

Between Xi’s meeting and the global prominence of Chinese AI startup DeepSeek, “China has had a few good weeks,” The New York Times wrote, but analysts cautioned that hopes of a coming economic recovery are “overly optimistic.” Goldman Sachs researchers estimated that both existent and threatened US tariffs could shave as much as 1.4% off China’s GDP growth.