Tensions with the West are fuelling China’s anxiety about food supplies

American soyabean farmers could draw some comfort from the tariffs that China imposed on an array of American imports on February 10th. Foodstuffs like theirs were not affected by China’s countermeasures against the 10% levy on Chinese imports that had been ordered a few days earlier by President Donald Trump. But growers in farming states like Illinois and Iowa still have reason to worry. China’s leader, Xi Jinping, wants to wean his country off food from the West. Amid rising geopolitical tensions, he sees self-sufficiency and diversity of supply as an increasingly urgent need.