Xi urged the Chinese to stop wasting food and to be alert to the danger of a food crisis between Covid-19 and the flooding.

The state news agency of China Xinhua today quoted President Xi Jinping as saying that the issue of food waste in this country was "shocking and sad".

Mr. Xi also emphasized the task of strengthening regional surveillance and establishing a long-term mechanism to avoid food waste, while calling for public awareness, promoting a society where "waste

Experts say that reducing food waste will help improve food security and strengthen the country's ability to cope with the country's decline in imports.

As early as last year, Xi and other top leaders have repeatedly emphasized the importance of food security, while assuring the public that China is producing enough food for its 1.4 billion people.

However, according to a joint report by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences published in 2018, restaurants and canteens in China waste about 18 million tons of food each.

Zhang Hongzhou, an expert at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, said Mr Xi's latest appeal represents Beijing's next move in the midst of improving national food security.

"In addition to promoting investment in agricultural projects abroad, diversifying imports and strengthening agribusiness around the world, reducing food waste also means less reliance on imports.

This expert is not too concerned about the effects of flooding and other natural disasters with China's food supply, especially grain production.

However, Zhang argues that low cost is the main reason farmers do not want to grow more grain.