Food security is inextricably linked to everyone's security, Wan Jianmin, a member of the Standing Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said on Thursday, calling for further progress in ensuring China's supply.  

China has an average grain supply of 470 kilograms for each of its 1.4 billion people, higher than the internationally recognized safety line of 400 kilograms, Wan noted during a "Members' Corridor" meeting with the media ahead of the opening session of the 13th National Committee of the CPPCC in Beijing. 

Production of rice, a key staple in China, has significantly increased over the past few years due to the extensive promotion of superior varieties, he added. 

The majority of grain grown in China is developed domestically, and "in recent years, domestically developed rice has also improved in quality and taste. Some of the recently selected varieties are comparable to Japan's high-quality rice as well as Thai rice," Wan noted. 

He added however: "In terms of safeguarding the country's food security, there is still room for improvement."

For the last couple of years, demand for corn and soybean in China has steadily increased, but their average yield has fallen far short of international advanced levels, Wan said.

The supply of certain germplasm, genetic resources used to grow plants, is still dependent on imports, he noted.

"Improvements need to be made on various fronts, including intellectual property protection and technological innovations using the latest techniques," Wan said.

Having a germplasm resources center is the key, he added. "A germplasm resources center constructed by the Chinese Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences is expected to be put into use this year. The number of seeds preserved at the center is estimated to be 1.5 million, ranking first in the world," he said.