China | World Food Programme

Over the last four decades, China has experienced remarkable economic and social transformations, lifting more than 770 million people out of extreme poverty and contributing significantly to global poverty reduction.

In 2021, China announced the eradication of extreme poverty, marking a historic milestone. Now an upper-middle-income country, it is entering a new phase of development focused on rural revitalization, sustainable agricultural practices and reducing the urban-rural divide.

China’s ability to produce sufficient grain to feed its 1.4 billion people is a major contribution to global food security. This is the result of continued investments in modern technology, mechanization and irrigation, as well as enhanced food safety.

However, China still faces multiple challenges in preventing a mass return to poverty in rural areas. The rural landscape is dominated by more than 200 million smallholder farmers, who produce the majority of food consumed nationally and manage 70 percent of cultivated land. For some living in the most remote locations, there is poor infrastructure and limited access to financial services, markets and value chains.

Nutrition among the Chinese population continues to improve, with child wasting (low weight for height) and stunting (impaired growth due to malnutrition) under control. However, China’s population is facing the challenge of the coexistence of overweight/obesity and micronutrient deficiency, particularly for low-income rural populations. The overweight rates of children under 5 have reached 8.9 percent, based on the 2024 SOFI report.

WFP’s work with China includes innovative pilot projects to improve the nutrition of preschool children in rural areas, increase the productivity and incomes of smallholder farmers, and strengthen agricultural resilience.

Aligned with the Government’s development priorities, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework for China, these initiatives enhance the food security and nutritional status of vulnerable populations, build resilience, and contribute to rural revitalization efforts.

Serving as a pivotal hub, WFP China acts as a Centre of Excellence for disseminating valuable knowledge, expertise, and technology derived from China’s national development journey, fostering South-South and Triangular Cooperation with a demand-driven approach.

Given China’s expanding role as a donor in international development, WFP is also focused on mobilizing resources within China and strengthening cooperation with the government and private sector to support its global humanitarian and development efforts.

What the World Food Programme is doing in China

Nutrition: Based on its global experience, WFP provides the Government with technical advice and expertise to improve the delivery of nutrition programmes in selected “poverty counties”, with a special focus on hard-to-reach areas.
Resilience building: WFP supports efforts to help vulnerable smallholder farmers in areas such as Gansu, Hainan, Hunan, Anhui and Guangxi provinces to enhance their capacity of generating income and becoming integrated into national food supply chains, including through access to markets and to financial services.
Disaster preparedness: WFP supports government efforts to build the resilience of targeted rural communities in arid and semi-arid regions (in Gansu, Anhui and Guangxi provinces and other disaster-prone regions) where climate-related shocks and stressors can easily wipe out any small gain in production. WFP provides advice and assistance aimed at strengthening response mechanisms for shocks, including supply chain interventions, asset creation and insurance systems.
South-South cooperation: Serving as a pivotal hub, WFP China acts as a Centre of Excellence for disseminating valuable knowledge, expertise and technology derived from China’s national development journey, fostering South-South and Triangular Cooperation with a demand-driven approach.
Private-public partnerships: WFP works with the Chinese government to ensure that efforts to achieve food security and nutrition in “poverty counties” within China and select developing countries are supported by the creation of public-private partnerships – with companies and civil society organizations – that can provide technical and financial assistance to food insecure areas both within and outside China.