Soybean production, imports to increase

China plans to boost its soybean production capability and also seek a high volume of imports to meet the country's domestic demand, agriculture and rural affairs officials said on Wednesday.

The country will step up efforts to expand cultivation of soybeans, accelerate research on nurturing high-yield crops and improve management of soybean production as part of its plan to revitalize the industry, according to Wu Hongyao, a senior official with the Office of the Central Rural Work Leading Group.

"Farmers in Northeast China and in regions around the Bohai Sea are encouraged to, and guided to, increase farmland for soybean cultivation," he said at a news conference of the State Council Information Office.