China stresses food security at key meeting

BEIJING - China renewed its commitment to safeguard food security in a statement released Friday following a two-day Central Rural Work Conference.

"Food security is the bottom line of agricultural structural reform," said the statement, adding that the government will secure the supply of staples, protect farmland and maintain production capacity.

China will ensure grain output in major producing regions, trying to keep cereal largely self-sufficient and staples absolutely safe, the statement read.

The government will offer preferential policies to large-scale grain farms while making sure that farmers can benefit from agricultural development.

China will also improve price formation mechanism and government purchase measures for important farm produces, according to the statement.