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AdvertisementChina food securityEconomyChina EconomyWhy China’s next 5-year plan will double down on food securityBeijing has made huge strides in its self-sufficiency push – but trade tensions, climate risks and supply-chain shocks keep fears alive
Reading Time:5 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPMandy Zuoin ShanghaiPublished: 6:00am, 16 Oct 2025As China drafts its 15th five-year plan – the next entry in a line of expansive blueprints that have set the tone for the country’s development over more than seven decades – we examine how these documents inform and reflect high-level policy priorities, what to expect in the coming iteration and why food security is set to remain a cornerstone in Beijing’s push for self-reliance.
AdvertisementFor more stories in this ongoing series, click here. To view SCMP Plus Factsheets on the 15th five-year plan and more premium content, click here.For decades, one of the most common mantras from China’s leadership has been to “firmly hold the rice bowls of th..

An NRI couple living in the US is reportedly set to come back to India due to being victims of job loss; recently, there have been layoffs by Oracle Corporation. This move has highlighted the issue of visa restrictions and employment flexibility challenges faced by foreigners working in the US tech industry. As reported through a Reddit post by the wife, her husband was laid off from his position at Oracle in such a way that there will be a 60-day grace period from 11 April 2026. She herself has been laid off as far back as October 2025, with her having not found work ever since. Due to their lack of sponsorship through PERM or I-140, the only option left for the couple was to go back to India in July 2026.NRI couple prepares for India return as Oracle layoffs trigger strict 60-day visa window
The husband was reportedly impacted during a wider Oracle restructuring exercise that affected thousands of employees globally. His 60-day grace period is now the key deadline shaping their next ..

PC: Google Gemini Tulare Lake has made a surprising comeback, once known as Pa'ashi by the Tachi Yokut tribe. This rare event shows how a long-gone terminal lake can reclaim its original basin. It used to be the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi until it was drained in the late 1800s for farming purposes. In 2023, however, extreme weather and record snowfall in the Sierra Nevada refilled the basin, covering over 100,000 acres. This occurrence underscores California’s unpredictable water cycles and points out modern flood control's limitations. Besides affecting the Central Valley’s economy, the lake's return has sparked an ecological revival, drawing many migratory birds and renewing indigenous cultural areas.California’s largest lost body of water resurfaces According to the California Department of Water Resources, the Tulare Lake basin is a terminal sink for the Kings, Kaweah, Tule, and White rivers. While it was considered ‘extinct’ due to 20th-century ..