In a concerted drive to achieve self-sufficiency in corn and soybean production, authorities in China have approved genetically modified cultivars.  Thirty-seven GM corn varieties and fourteen GM soybean cultivars were recently reviewed and accepted by a national committee.  Approval has been extended to GM strains developed in China using technology acquired from the E.U. and the U.S.  China National Seed Group, a state-owned concern, purchased Syngenta Group in 2017.

Pilot trials have demonstrated the superiority of GM cultivars, expected to increase yields by 10 to 15 percent.  This would be significant given that China plants 110 million acres of corn annually allowing the nation to ultimately reduce imports from the U.S. and Brazil.