China Now Leads In Alternative Meat Technology

RECENT analysis by the Good Food Institute Asia Pacific (GFI APAC) reveals China’s substantial lead in cultivated meat innovation. Of the top 20 all-time patent applicants for cultivated meat globally, eight are from China. This figure is double that of the next leading nation, Israel, which has four applicants, followed by South Korea and the United States, each with three.

These patents encompass a wide array of technological innovations crucial for animal cell cultivation for food. Specific applications include advancements in cell line development, cell culture media development, cell scaffolding for creating specific meat products, and enabling technologies to enhance the efficiency of cultivated meat production.

Buoyed by the national government’s current five-year agriculture plan encouraging research in cultivated meat and recombinant proteins, President Xi Jinping’s “Grand Food Vision” and bio-economy development plan aim to advance plant-based and microbial protein sources.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) identified the safety and nutritional efficacy of alternative proteins as a key priority and emphasized research into novel food technologies. The influential No. 1 Central Document, which outlines China’s top goals for the year, underscored the importance of “building a diversified food supply system,” including efforts to “cultivate and develop biological agriculture and explore novel food resources.” A subsequent MARA briefing explicitly called for the development of “new food resources such as plant-based meat.”

In late March, an $11 million investment from public and private sectors in China’s first alternative protein innovation center concluded. In May, the Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform, in collaboration with the Pinggu District Government, released a joint action plan for 2025-2027, marking the capital’s first district-level policy specifically for advancing the green economy, including alternative proteins.

China has established a new United Nations working group with regulatory counterparts in Singapore, South Korea, and Saudi Arabia. This group focuses on implementing global guidelines for food safety assessments of cell culture media used in cultivated meat production, which will help streamline regulatory processes and accelerate market entry for these proteins.

Gosker highlights the profound implications of these developments. “One cannot overstate the significance of Asia’s largest economy putting cultivated meat and other novel ingredients at the center of its national food strategy,” she commented. China’s strategic involvement in the alternative protein sector positions it to significantly influence the global adoption and accessibility of cultivated meat, potentially ushering in a new era of food production.