Scaling Up and Going Out: The Politics of Chinese Agribusiness Development

This project investigates the politics of Chinese agribusinesses “scaling up” production domestically and “going out” to make investments globally. It addresses the following questions: What are the key drivers behind the transition from smallholder farming to industrial-scale agriculture in China? What are the domestic and global implications of this transition?

Looney finds that the development of dragon head enterprises, or large-scale, agro-industrial firms, lies at the heart of China’s recent agricultural modernization efforts, that the factors driving their development are irreversible, and that U.S. firms will face tough competition with them both within China and globally.  In addition, she shows that Chinese agribusiness development has been framed as a national security issue by both China and the U.S., the effects of which are to broaden the scope of agricultural products controlled by large companies and to accelerate the pace of scaling up and going out. 

Kristen Looney is an associate professor of Asian studies and government at Georgetown University, where she teaches courses on Chinese and comparative politics. Her research is on East Asian development and governance. She holds a B.A. in Chinese studies from Wellesley College and a Ph.D. in government from Harvard University.