A Diachronic Analysis of the Beef Industry

Cattle have long held an important place in Chinese society and agriculture, especially as a source of draught power, which was the primary role of cattle in the central planning era. The transition in primary role from draught to beef cattle and the growth in little over 30 years to among the largest beef and cattle industries in the world has been remarkable. This has been accompanied by dramatic shifts in the structure of the industry and the relationships between industry actors. Thus the evolution of the beef and cattle industry provides fascinating insights into the political, sociological, and economic dynamics of agro-food markets in China that define the ‘architecture’ of these markets (Fligstein, 2001) and which are the focus of this book. Central to the architecture or structure of beef and cattle markets in China are networks and relationships of industry participants. These networks and relationships have undergone fundamental changes over the last 30 years. This chapter provides a diachronic analysis of the beef industry which highlights the nature of, and reasons for, the evolutionary changes in these networks and relationships.