Chinese envoy calls for efforts to address root causes of food insecurity

A Chinese envoy on Thursday called on the international community to address the root causes of food insecurity.

"In order to resolve the food crisis, the international community must focus on the root causes and conduct a systematic review of the situation," said Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations (UN).

The most severely affected victims of the food crisis are, without exception, developing countries, he noted.

"Food insecurity is essentially the result of insufficient and unbalanced development worldwide, and a concrete manifestation of the development gap between the North and the South," he told a UN Security Council open debate on famine and conflict-induced global food insecurity.

"It is closely related to the longstanding, unjust and unreasonable food production and trade system and the global governance system as a whole. The international community should address both the symptoms and root causes, improve rules and regulations, and take comprehensive measures to achieve the goal of zero hunger in 2030 as planned," he said.

The Chinese envoy urged developed countries to cancel unreasonable agricultural subsidies and adopt reasonable monetary policies, reduce the impact of factors including imported inflation and exchange rate fluctuations on food security in developing countries.

He also called for efforts to remove the restrictions of unilateral sanctions on food production and exports, combat speculative capitals and price monopoly, and to build a safe, stable and mutually beneficial industrial and supply chain system.

(CGTN)