What are the gene-edited crops in China?

November 12, 2025 •

4 min read

In 2023, China made a significant regulatory shift by issuing the first safety approval for a gene-edited crop, a soybean variety designed to produce healthier oil. This policy change marks a new era for gene-edited crops in China, accelerating their development and commercialization to address national food security challenges and boost agricultural productivity.

Quick Summary

This overview explores the key gene-edited crops approved and developed in China, examining the regulatory framework driving their commercialization and the potential impact on food self-sufficiency and agricultural innovation. Key examples include high oleic acid soybeans, disease-resistant wheat, and high-yield rice, which utilize precise genome-editing techniques to enhance desirable traits.

Key Points

Recent Approvals: China has approved several gene-edited crops, including high oleic acid soybeans, disease-resistant wheat, and various high-yield varieties of rice and corn.
Regulatory Framework: The government created a more streamlined regulatory process for gene-edited crops compared to traditional GMOs, accelerating their path to commercialization.
Motivations: The primary drivers behind this push are strengthening national food security, increasing domestic crop yields, and reducing dependence on imports.
Key Technology: CRISPR-Cas9 is the primary gene-editing tool used by Chinese researchers to achieve precise, targeted genetic modifications.
Key Traits: Research and commercialization efforts focus on developing traits like disease resistance, climate resilience (heat/cold tolerance), higher yields, and improved nutritional content.
Strategic Importance: China's investment in gene editing is a long-term strategic move to become a global leader in agricultural biotechnology and insulate its food supply.

China's Strategic Shift Towards Gene-Edited Crops

Facing immense pressure to feed its population of 1.4 billion and reduce reliance on food imports, China has strategically pivoted towards modern agricultural biotechnology, specifically focusing on gene-edited crops. Unlike traditional genetic modification (GMO) that introduces foreign DNA, gene editing (GE) techniques, such as CRISPR, make precise, targeted changes to a plant's existing genome. This precision is a key reason why China's regulatory approach to GE crops is more streamlined than its process for traditional GMOs, speeding up the pathway to commercialization. This represents a significant policy shift from decades of a more cautious approach towards modified crops.

Key Gene-Edited Crop Approvals and Research

China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) has been steadily increasing approvals for gene-edited varieties. Recent years have seen several critical milestones, signaling a strong governmental push to modernize its seed industry. The commercialization of these crops aims to bolster domestic grain production, enhance nutritional content, and improve crop resilience against diseases and climate change.

A Timeline of Significant Approvals

High Oleic Acid Soybean (2023): Developed by Shandong Shunfeng Biotechnology, this was China's first safety approval for a gene-edited crop. By modifying existing genes, the soybean produces an oil with a higher concentration of healthy fats, a valuable trait for both nutrition and the food processing industry.
Disease-Resistant Wheat (2024): In a major step for its staple grain, China approved a gene-edited wheat variety with enhanced resistance to powdery mildew, a common and destructive fungal disease. This offers a critical solution for farmers to reduce crop losses and improve yields.
Other Approvals (Late 2024/Early 2025): The end of 2024 and beginning of 2025 saw MARA issue safety certificates for a broader range of gene-edited crops, including additional soybean varieties, wheat, corn, and rice. These approvals included seeds developed by major seed companies like Dabeinong and Syngenta Group's China National Seed Group.

Advancements in Gene Editing Technology

China's prowess in gene-editing research is well-established, with multiple academic and corporate institutions driving innovation. The application of advanced tools, primarily CRISPR-Cas9, has allowed for rapid and precise trait development.

Yield Enhancement: Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have successfully developed high-yield rice varieties. One notable example from 2018 used CRISPR to increase rice yields by 25-31% compared to traditional varieties.
Climate Resilience: Research has also focused on adapting crops to changing environmental conditions. Examples include heat-tolerant tomatoes and soybeans that can thrive in warmer climates, addressing critical issues brought on by global warming. Wuhan University researchers also demonstrated increased cold tolerance in rice through gene editing.
Nutritional Improvement: Beyond yield and resilience, gene-editing is also being used to improve nutritional profiles. Research has led to high-fiber rice and soybeans with high protein content, targeting public health benefits.

Comparison of China's Regulatory Approach to GMOs vs. GE Crops

China's regulatory system treats gene-edited crops differently from traditional GMOs, reflecting the distinction in the genetic changes made. This tiered approach is designed to fast-track GE approvals while maintaining stringent oversight for GMOs, which are typically viewed with greater public skepticism.


Feature	Gene-Edited (GE) Crops	Genetically Modified (GMO) Crops
Genetic Material	Changes to the plant's existing genome, typically without inserting foreign DNA.	Involves the insertion of foreign genetic material from another species.
Regulatory Pathway	Requires less complicated safety evaluations and can follow an accelerated approval process once field trials are complete.	Subject to a lengthy and stringent, multi-stage approval process covering research, testing, release, and production.
Commercialization Timeline	Expected to be faster, potentially 1-2 years after pilot trials, speeding up market entry.	Historically much longer, often involving several years of extensive field trials and evaluation.
Public Perception	Generally viewed with less public wariness compared to traditional GMOs, though acceptance is still evolving.	Faces greater public concern and distrust, which has historically slowed commercialization.
Examples	High oleic acid soybean, disease-resistant wheat, high-yield rice.	Insect-resistant cotton, insect-resistant maize (BBL2-2), papaya.

Conclusion: The Outlook for Gene-Edited Crops in China

China's proactive stance on gene-edited crops is a calculated move to secure its food supply and lead in agricultural biotechnology. By creating a clearer and faster regulatory pathway for GE crops, the government is incentivizing innovation and investment in the seed industry. This shift is already leading to the commercialization of novel crop varieties designed for higher yields, disease resistance, and enhanced nutrition. While challenges remain, including ongoing public perception management, the future of gene-edited crops in China appears poised for significant expansion. The country's strategic embrace of this technology, while still maintaining distinct regulations for traditional GMOs, positions it as a major player influencing global biotech standards and agricultural practices.

Visit the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service for detailed reports on China's agricultural biotechnology regulations.

Potential Impacts and Future Directions

Looking ahead, the widespread adoption of gene-edited crops could have profound impacts on Chinese agriculture and global food markets. Domestically, it could reduce reliance on imported grains, stabilize food prices, and provide farmers with more resilient, productive seeds. On the international stage, China's developments could influence regulatory standards in other countries, particularly in developing nations looking to leverage biotechnology for food security. This strategic push is not just about increasing food supply but also about building a technologically advanced and self-sufficient agricultural sector capable of withstanding future environmental and geopolitical uncertainties.

Frequently Asked Questions

The main difference is that gene editing typically makes precise changes to a plant's existing genes without introducing foreign DNA from other species. Traditional genetic modification (GMO) involves the insertion of foreign genetic material to alter the plant's traits.

Recent approvals include high oleic acid soybeans, disease-resistant wheat, and several new varieties of corn and rice with improved traits. The first GE crop approval was for a soybean in 2023.

China is accelerating the development of gene-edited crops to address food security concerns, reduce reliance on imported grains, and boost agricultural productivity amidst climate change and geopolitical pressures.

China has implemented a tiered regulatory system. Gene-edited crops that don't contain foreign genes follow a faster approval process with less complicated safety evaluations compared to traditional GMOs.

Gene-edited crops can provide higher yields, better resistance to diseases and pests, and improved tolerance to environmental stresses like heat and cold. This helps ensure a more stable and resilient food supply.

While public perception is still evolving, there is generally less wariness towards gene-edited crops compared to traditional GMOs. However, the government acknowledges the need for public education and transparency to build trust.

CRISPR-Cas9 is a foundational gene-editing tool used extensively by Chinese researchers. Its affordability, precision, and efficiency have been critical in developing many of the gene-edited crop varieties.