Agricultural foreign investment needs to adapt to the new normal and accurately grasp the development opportunity

In 2014, the scale of China's foreign investment exceeded the scale of attracting foreign investment for the first time, becoming a net exporter of capital. This means that since China's reform and opening up, the development pattern of mainly relying on exports and attracting foreign investment has undergone a major change. Under this new normal, agricultural foreign investment is facing a once-in-a-lifetime development opportunity, so we should actively adapt to the new normal and effectively plan strategic choices during the 13th Five-Year Plan period.

Agricultural foreign investment needs to adapt to the new normal and accurately grasp the development opportunities

At present, China has become the world's largest trading country, the second largest economy and the third largest source of foreign investment. With the economy entering a new normal and reform entering a deep water area, the internal and external environment for agricultural foreign investment is undergoing profound changes and opportunities are remarkable.

(1) China has entered a period of rapid expansion of agricultural foreign investment development

According to statistics from the Ministry of Commerce, China's net non-financial foreign direct investment reached US $102.9 billion in 2014, an increase of 14.1%. From 2009 to 2013, the accumulated amount of China's agricultural foreign direct investment reached 4.949 billion US dollars, although it accounted for a relatively small proportion of the total amount and still had a significant gap compared with the manufacturing industry and service industry, but the average growth rate of the flow during the five years reached 62.52%, much higher than the average growth rate of 14.3% of the total flow during the same period, and it increased steadily year by year. According to incomplete statistics, from 2010 to 2014, China's overseas mergers and acquisitions related to agriculture reached US $18.5 billion, represented by Shuanghui Group's US $7.1 billion acquisition of 100% equity of Smithfield, showing a spurt growth. It can be seen that through the government-led and capital market operation, agricultural foreign investment has achieved double improvement in quantity and quality. In addition, the reform of domestic foreign investment system has been deepened continuously. A series of favorable policy arrangements will promote the rapid development of agricultural foreign investment.

(II) The new mechanism of global and regional cooperation has set up a broad stage for China's agricultural foreign investment

The CPC Central Committee and the State Council proposed that only by considering and comprehensively applying the international and domestic "two markets, two resources and two types of rules" can we ensure the effective realization of China's global economic interests. General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed the Belt and Road Initiative and will invest US$40 billion to establish the Silk Road Fund to provide investment and financing support for infrastructure, resource development, industry and financial cooperation among countries along the route; the Asian Investment Bank and BRICS Bank led by China have been established and actually operated; bilateral free trade agreements such as China, South Korea and Australia have been basically concluded, and the China-US BIT launched at the high point has been stepped up; China Overseas Agricultural Investment Fund will also be officially operated. The above-mentioned series of agriculture-related funds, regional and global new economic cooperation mechanisms and new structures have been issued and operated for six consecutive years, providing a clear guiding trend for the strategic planning and implementation of agricultural foreign investment.

(3) Modern agricultural development puts forward urgent and long-term requirements for agricultural foreign investment

The No.1 Document of the Central Committee in 2015 pointed out that the double squeeze between the "floor" of domestic agricultural production costs and the "ceiling" of bulk agricultural product prices has been severe. First of all, agricultural foreign investment will help to improve the integrity and cohesion of China's global agricultural industry chain, realize the joint improvement of industrial quality, development quality and operation efficiency, and alleviate cost pressure. Secondly, agricultural foreign investment will help to make better use of the favorable conditions of sufficient international agricultural product supply, increase the realistic possibility and operation space of adjusting domestic surplus and shortage, and alleviate price pressure. Third, agricultural foreign investment needs to focus on the self-sufficiency level of domestic main agricultural products, production priorities, regional layout and changes in the import and export of agricultural products and consumption structure, define key industries, key regions and main methods, do a good job in coordination with the domestic agricultural modernization construction "adjusting the structure and changing the mode", create favorable external conditions, and form strong external support.

Intensify planning and clarify the strategic choice of agricultural foreign investment during the "Thirteenth Five-Year Plan" period

Firmly grasping the historical opportunity of national development and based on the new normal of economic development, agricultural foreign investment should pay close attention to planning long-term layout, clarify strategic choices, and make positive contributions to practically promoting China's agricultural foreign cooperation and actively expanding China's agricultural development space.

(I) Give priority to the top-level design of agricultural foreign investment strategic planning

Agricultural foreign investment is an important part of agricultural foreign cooperation strategy. We should improve the ability of making overall use of both international and domestic resources, and construct an all-round agricultural foreign cooperation planning system composed of national, provincial (district, municipal) and enterprise levels around target demand, key content, action subject, management mechanism and policy support. First, do a good job in the planning and combination of agricultural foreign investment and the agricultural development needs of target countries, and find the right combination point based on the needs of both sides. The second is to do a good job in the planning and combination of the central, local and enterprise foreign investment objectives, rely on key industries to integrate the core interests of all parties in foreign investment, and realize the coordination and consistency of planning system, management system and enterprise actions. Third, do a good job in the planning and integration of key technologies, key industries and target areas. Based on geographical advantages and cooperation convenience, adopt differentiation strategies to highlight the investment space layout between China and neighboring Asia, countries along the "Belt and Road", South America, Africa and other regions.

(II) Focus on cultivating institutional advantages, industrial advantages, enterprise advantages and regional advantages of agricultural foreign investment

First of all, we will thoroughly improve the reform of the agricultural foreign investment management system, actively participate in the formulation of multi-bilateral agricultural investment agreements and rules, enhance China's voice in the formulation of agricultural international economic and trade rules and standards, and form new institutional advantages for global agricultural cooperation. Secondly, promote the transformation of agricultural industry development from scale expansion to quality and benefit improvement, from cost advantage to comprehensive competitive advantage with talents, capital, technology, service and brand as the core, vertically improve the competitiveness of chain integrity of single industry, horizontally promote the integration of industrial resources and construct industrial alliance, and form new industrial advantages. Third, speed up the cultivation of agricultural enterprise groups with international competitiveness, pay attention to attracting agricultural and non-agricultural enterprises to participate together and give full play to their respective advantages, pay attention to building enterprise alliances, group to go to sea, and form new advantages of enterprises. Fourth, build a global agricultural foreign investment partnership network based on the surrounding areas, radiating the "Belt and Road", and taking advantage of opportunities such as capital market operation and international infrastructure investment to make China's agricultural foreign cooperation with relevant countries and regions closer, more convenient, and more integrated, forming new regional advantages.

(3) Promoting the effective transfer of "technology, industry and market" by relying on agricultural foreign investment

As an important means of open economic development, agricultural foreign investment aims at promoting the transfer of technology, industry and market. Firstly, on the basis of reasonable evaluation of agricultural technology suitable for export, export different types of agricultural technology to different target areas and countries through foreign investment to promote the formation of related technology dependence. Secondly, on the basis of global integration division of labor, realize the transformation from traditional "point investment" to "chain investment", construct the whole industrial chain mode covering production, storage and transportation, and process, and realize the effective digestion of domestic agricultural excess capacity to a certain extent. Third, combining with the supply, overall planning and balance of agricultural products in target countries, target regions and the world, gradually establish stable channels for production and storage and transportation of agricultural products abroad, create new external markets, and improve the market competitiveness and international influence of China's agricultural foreign investment.