Good Post Drew, I agree. I have been there about 6 times - total of 3 months in China and they are extremely hard working people.
The demand in their own country for automation, machines, and basic food production is very high, and the successful companies there build for the internal market, which is evolving into the mechanized age as incomes start to filter down to the farmer/agricultural industry.
They have a lot of people to support and industrial products have been in the forefront for 20 years which has made a large consumer base, and people are brought from the farms/local communities to build industry now they need to look elsewhere for wheat, corn, oil and so on.
China is/was like the US in the 1910-20's when factories here were bringing in people from around the world and created communities nearly overnight to build products. There were farmers here too, lightly mechanized, but then the demand of these cities and people in factories eventually led to better and more efficient farming with a lot of local farms supporting towns, then corporations bought the little farmers or the farmers joined a Co-op to compete and started the evolution to the way we farm and grow food today.
Interestingly, "organic farms" in the 60's and 70's had limited success, and then in the last 10 years everyone wants to be "organic and locally grown".
We have gone full circle in 100 years such that the small farmer can again coexist with the corporate entities and be profitable, but it takes time and evolution of the consumer population at the end of the day.
