China’s early rice output held steady at 28.29 million tonnes in 2026, marking the sixth straight year above 28 million tonnes despite heavy rainfall and typhoons, the National Bureau of Statistics said Friday.
The country's early rice yield per hectare averaged at 5,964 kg, down 48 kg from the previous year, data showed. The decrease was mainly attributed to persistent heavy rainfall during the heading and flowering stages in the major production areas south of the Yangtze River and in south China, followed by multiple typhoons during the harvesting period. Some low-lying farmland suffered waterlogging, and early rice in some areas lodged, affecting the maturity and harvesting process.
The total planting area of the early rice reached 4.744 million hectares this year, up 1,467 hectares from 2025.
Among major producing areas, Guangxi, Hunan, Guangdong and Jiangxi all reported output declines due to typhoon impacts, while Zhejiang, Hainan and Hubei saw slight increases from a year earlier.
Song Yongjun, director of the Agricultural Production Division of the Department of Rural Socio-Economic Survey at the National Bureau of Statistics, said that "the country has continued to increase support for grain production, implementing multiple policies to strengthen agriculture, benefit farmers and boost rural prosperity. We have stabilized the minimum purchase price for early indica rice and subsidies for farmland protection, while increasing rotation subsidies, all of which have helped boost farmers' enthusiasm for planting. With our summer grain output increasing and early rice output remaining stable, we have laid a solid foundation for achieving a bumper grain harvest for the whole year, and provided strong support for a good start to the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030)."
China's early rice output stable for 6th straight year despite extreme weather
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday called on China and Indonesia to strengthen all-round cooperation and pool greater development synergy to jointly tackle risks and challenges.
Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks while co-chairing the first Conference of China-Indonesia Comprehensive Strategic Dialogue Mechanism with Indonesian Foreign Minister Sugiono in Jakarta.
Noting that the current international situation is marked by growing turbulence and uncertainty, with unilateralism and hegemonic practices seriously impacting global security and development, Wang said it is timely for China and Indonesia, as major developing countries, to strengthen strategic communication and deepen strategic cooperation, which carries important and far-reaching significance beyond bilateral relations.
Wang said China has always placed Indonesia in an important position in its diplomacy, particularly its neighborhood diplomacy, and is ready to work with Indonesia to enhance mutual understanding and support.
Stressing that the conference marks an important milestone in bilateral relations, Sugiono said China's development has brought enormous opportunities to the world, particularly neighboring countries such as Indonesia.
He said Indonesia and China share closely intertwined interests and stressed the importance of strengthening coordination with China for mutual benefit as Indonesia advances its development strategies.
Sugiono added that Indonesia firmly adheres to the one-China policy and supports China's cause of reunification.
The two sides also agreed to uphold strategic autonomy and firmly support each other's core interests. They also decided to launch the formulation of the China-Indonesia Five-year Action Plan (2027-2031).
Both sides agreed that deepening cooperation in energy and mineral resources serves their common interests, and expressed readiness to jointly build a comprehensive, open and green partnership in energy and mineral resources.
Indonesia spoke highly of the contributions made by Chinese companies to local development, noting that the success of Chinese companies is also a success for Indonesia. It expressed readiness to provide Chinese companies with a fair, transparent and friendly business environment.
The two sides also pledged to expand cooperation in areas such as artificial intelligence and poverty reduction. They agreed to restart cooperation in fishing, accelerate maritime cooperation and push forward joint development.
They agreed to fully and effectively implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea and work toward the early conclusion of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea.
Both sides agreed to hold the second meeting of the dialogue mechanism in China next year.
Chinese FM calls for stronger all-round cooperation with Indonesia to tackle risks, challenges
