China’s Going Out agricultural policy: An analysis of its development in Argentina

Abstract

The extraordinary demand for raw materials from the People's Republic of China led to an unusual increase in commodity imports. However, after the 2008 world food crisis, China favored Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) as a mechanism for guaranteeing its domestic food supply. As a result, agriculture became a priority within the Going Out strategy. Despite the abrupt disembarkation of Chinese FDI into primary-extractive sectors in Argentina, the academic literature focused limited attention on the advance of Chinese capital in agriculture. This article analyzes the way in which China deployed its agricultural FDI strategy in Argentina between 2010 and 2016. A qualitative methodology is used based on a survey of Chinese initiatives in Argentina based on news coverage, academic publications and government sources. This has led to the identification of three modalities within the strategy in which investments were directed to land, to agricultural services and to the agricultural value chain.