Chinese–Western grain trade diplomacy: credits and famine relief, September 1960–August 1961

The Chinese leadership’s decision in August 1960 to instruct MOFT to gradually resume purchasing Western grain through CIRECO resulted in the PRC becoming a net grain importer for the first time and over the long-term. The grain import programme was managed by Zhou Enlai until his death in 1976,1 and in the autumn of 1960 Ding Kejian, one of Zhou’s top economic advisors, was appointed CIRECO’s chairman and CEO.