China is a large agricultural developing country, and its agricultural policy aims at ensuring food security, increasing farmers' income and promoting the harmonious and sustainable development of agriculture, economy and society in rural areas. For a long period of time, instead of being subsidized and supported, the agricultural sector has been “exploited” by agriculture taxes and the difference between the prices of industrial and agricultural products. It has nonetheless made considerable contributions to industrialization and urbanization in the country.

Ever since the founding of the People's Republic of China, significant achievements have been made in the agricultural sector, attracting attention from around the world. These achievements can mainly be attributed to policy and institutional factors, such as land ownership reform and the household contract responsibility system. Scientific and technical innovation and the improvement of farmers' skills and abilities have also played an important role. After the reform and opening-up, the government has been gradually increasing support for the agricultural sector with the growth of financial capacity and the aging of agricultural infrastructure. Support for agricultural production, however, is still very limited, due to the double constraint of weak financial capacity and the commitments made during the country's accession to the WTO. The main support measures are still confined to a few green box measures and support programmes under the coverage of de minimis.