The workshop titled “Chinese Work” in European Agriculture: Money, People and Materials was held on March 15, 2024, at the Faculty of Arts, Palacky University in Olomouc (UP), Czech Republic. The event was jointly organized by the China Europe Research Network (CHERN) COST Action and the Department of Asian Studies, UP. It brought together renowned and young scholars to discuss the current development of Chinese presence in agriculture in Europe and the world. The workshop aimed to identify important research gaps and methodological approaches that go beyond the narrow but still dominant discourse on “Chinese land grabbing”.
The first session “Are there any Chinese investments/entrepreneurship in European agriculture at all?” was chaired by Dr. Natalia Ryzhova. It included presentations on Chinese investment and entrepreneurship in wineries in Bordeaux (Juantong Ye, Vrije University of Amsterdam), China’s land rush in Australia (Dr. Michaela Böhme, Sino-German Agricultural Centre) and Chinese presence in Ukrainian agriculture (Arina Shyriaieva, UP). Following the presentations, participants engaged in a lively discussion that highlighted the limitations of the dominant narrative on land-grabbing. They noted that the cases presented served as a powerful illustration of the narrowness of this prevailing perspective. The participants’ reflections have significant implications for both research and policy. They highlight the need for more inclusive and context-specific approaches to addressing the challenges and opportunities associated with land acquisition and use by different Chinese agents.
The second session, chaired by Prof. Maggi Leung, focused on the question “Chinese investment in agriculture abroad: what lessons can Europe learn from other regions?” Presentations covered Chinese entrepreneurs setting up seed production in rural Tajikistan (Dr. Irna Hoffman, University of Oxford), Sino-Russian cooperation in the Russian Far East agriculture (Natalia Ryzhova, UP), and vegetable production and distribution by Chinese entrepreneurs in Siberia (Iullia Koreshkova, UP). During this session, participants engaged in a detailed discussion on the Chinese capitalist agrarian economy in post-Soviet contexts. They emphasized its complex and multifaceted nature, which defies straightforward analysis and underlined that acknowledging and addressing these complexities, researchers can develop a comprehensive and accurate methodology to grasp the Chinese capitalist agrarian economy in European contexts.
The third session “The Social Dimensions of Chinese Agricultural Technologies, Machines, and Science in Europe” led by Prof. Pal Nyiri (Corvinus university in Budapest). It was focused on business and research collaborations in farming with drones (Dr. Lena Kaufman, the University of Zurich), the security implications of China-made drones in European smart agriculture (Claris M. Diaz & Prof. Emilian Kavalski, Jagiellonian University in Krakow), and China-Netherlands academic mobility and agricultural science development (Prof. Maggi Leung & Rui Huang, University of Amsterdam). Participants examined the complex interplay between economic factors, such as market opportunities and producers’ needs, and political considerations, including national security concerns and geopolitical rivalries. Participants emphasized the importance of considering the diverse stakeholders involved, their varying interests, and the potential unintended consequences of technological change.
The workshop ended with a roundtable discussion on the challenges and prospects of Chinese presence in European agriculture, chaired by Prof. Pal Nyiri. Participants discussed options for further cooperation and the need to broaden and deepen research topics on the Chinese presence in European agriculture, including by proposing topics for thesis to PhD and MSc students. Participants discussed the need to broaden and deepen research on Chinese presence in European agriculture, including by engaging PhD and master’s students in relevant research projects. This laid the foundation for future joint-cooperation in research and dissemination efforts. The success of the workshop was made possible by the support of the European Commission, which recognized the importance of fostering international collaboration and advancing academic understanding in this emerging area of study.
