A food safety factory shutdown has Americans hunting for baby formula. Readying themselves for a covid-19 lockdown, Chinese in Beijing emptied store shelves. Emerging from lockdown, some in Shanghai are visiting well-provisioned markets. U.S.-China agricultural trade is booming, but many are still being left hungry. Food security, sustainability and safety remain issues.
Video: North Korea: Following the Chinese Road?
USCI Senior Fellow Mike Chinoy reports on trends he observed during his fifteenth visit to North Korea.

Is isolated and reclusive North Korea tinkering with Chinese-style economic reform? In the hope of reviving a shattered economy, Beijing has been pressing North Korean leader Kim Jong Il to do so for years. Now, there are some intriguing signs that Kim just might be listening.
U.S.-China Institute Senior Fellow Mike Chinoy has just completed his fifteenth visit to North Korea. He began his talk by noting that conventional thinking of North Korea consists of the "five Ms":
- misery
- malnutrition
- missiles
- mania
- menace
During his recent visit, however, Chinoy observed "five new Ms":
- money
- mobiles
- markets
- motorcars
- middle class
To watch Chinoy's presentation, please click on the play button below.
For a quarter century, Chinoy reported from Asia for CNN. He’s the author of China Live: People Power and the Television Revolution and Meltdown: The Inside Story of the North Korean Nuclear Crisis. At the USC U.S.-China Institute, he's worked on our documentaries, including the just released first segment of Assignment: China.
This video is also available on the USCI YouTube Channel.
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