Ask The Expert: Chengdu Newsun’s Yuntian Ye Discusses China’s Five-Year Plan, Impact on Biologicals, and Sustainable Agriculture

Dr. Yuntian Ye

China’s most recent Five-Year Plan — its 15th overall — provides details about using biologicals in agricultural technology for the first time.

AgriBusiness Global asked Dr. Yuntian Ye, Head of the Synthetic Biology Biomanufacturing Innovation Center at Chengdu Newsun, about the ins and outs of the plan, how the plan impacts Chinese and global markets, what it means for sustainable agriculture, and more.

AgriBusiness Global: How does China’s 15th Five-Year Plan highlight the application of synthetic biology in agricultural technology? What does the plan entail?

Dr. Yuntian Ye: China’s 15th Five-Year Plan sends a very clear signal: The country wants agricultural modernization to be driven not only by scale, but by science, green transformation, quality upgrading, and stronger industrial capability. In the agriculture section, the plan calls for the coordinated development of “technology-driven agriculture, green agriculture, quality agriculture, and branded agriculture,” and it also explicitly states that China should “actively develop synthetic biology technologies and expand new protein sources.”

To me, the significance is bigger than the wording itself. It means synthetic biology is no longer being treated as a niche frontier topic. It is being elevated into China’s broader agenda for food security, agricultural modernization, and bio-based industrial upgrading. In practice, this points to three directions. First, agriculture is expected to become greener at the input level, with more room for bio-based crop inputs and biologically manufactured alternatives. Second, synthetic biology is being linked to the “greater food” agenda through new protein sources and more diversified food production pathways. Third, once a technology enters national planning language, it usually gains stronger momentum in capital allocation, infrastructure, scale-up capacity, and industrial participation. That is why this matters: It is not just a scientific signal, but an industrial one. The last point is my interpretation of the policy direction.

ABG: How does this impact the market in China and globally?

YY: For China, the most important impact is that synthetic biology is moving closer to real industrialization. China is already widely seen as one of the world’s most dynamic synthetic biology and biomanufacturing ecosystems. What makes China stand out is not only research activity, but also its growing ability to connect research, pilot-scale infrastructure, manufacturing, and commercialization. Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has described China as one of the countries with major concentrations of excellence in translating synthetic biology discoveries into economic and public benefit at scale, while World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO’s) 2025 Global Innovation Index shows China entering the global top 10 and leading the world in knowledge and technology outputs.

Globally, I believe China’s progress will matter for one simple reason: Sustainable technologies only reshape markets when they can be scaled. China has a strong chance to become not only a major market for synthetic biology, but also a major supplier of certain bio-based solutions. If China continues building scale-up and manufacturing strength in this field, it could help make emerging agricultural and food-related biotechnologies more affordable, more reliable, and more accessible, especially in developing markets. That matters because many markets do not just need innovation; they need innovation that can actually be produced on an industrial scale and delivered at a workable cost.

ABG: Will this allow emerging biological technologies to help shape the future of sustainable agriculture?

YY: Yes, I believe so. In the context of global decarbonization, synthetic biology is a foundational engine for the future of sustainable agriculture. It has the potential to fundamentally reshape the traditional agricultural model of high input, high consumption, and high emissions. For example, conventional nitrogen fertilizer production relies on energy-intensive industrial processes that require high temperature and high pressure. By contrast, synthetic biology is opening up new possibilities for nitrogen-related microbial solutions and other bio-based pathways that could reduce fertilizer use and lower agricultural greenhouse gas emissions over time. This is exactly why synthetic biology matters: It offers a path toward making agricultural production more resource-efficient, more precise, and more compatible with environmental goals. Conventional ammonia production’s dependence on high temperature and pressure is well established in the technical literature.

I do not think policy alone will decide the future. In agriculture, technology only matters when it performs in the real world. Field validation, manufacturing economics, regulation, and market acceptance will still determine which technologies truly scale, but the direction is unmistakable: Synthetic biology is moving from the lab into the industrial system, and that is exactly why it will play a bigger role in shaping sustainable agriculture in the years ahead.

ABG: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

YY: China’s strength in synthetic biology should not be judged only by papers or patents. The more important story is that China is building a full ecosystem around the field: research capability, engineering talent, pilot-scale infrastructure, manufacturing depth, and policy support are starting to reinforce each other. That combination is what gives synthetic biology real industrial power. In my view, this is why China could become not just an important market in this field, but also one of the key contributors to the future global supply of bio-based agricultural and food-system solutions.