NEW TECH FOODS

New global data compiled by the Good Food Institute (GFI) highlights China’s deepening commitment to scaling cultivated meat, positioning the country as a potential global leader in the sector.

A wave of policy announcements and patent activity indicates that cultivated meat is no longer viewed as experimental, but rather as a key component of national food security and long-term infrastructure.

According to research from GFI, among the top 20 global applicants for cultivated meat patents, eight are based in China, compared to just three from the US.

Notably, Chinese universities and public research institutions have filed more cultivated meat-related patents than their counterparts in the US and Europe combined, underscoring a highly coordinated, state-supported approach to protein innovation.

The Asia-Pacific region now accounts for more cultivated meat patents than North America and Europe combined, with China leading the pack at 160 total patent filings. The single largest contributor is Joes Future Food, a cultivated pork producer responsible for 25 of those applications.

This robust IP activity coincides with significant regulatory and strategic developments. China recently joined Singapore, South Korea and Saudi Arabia in a new UN Working Group focused on establishing global guidelines for cultivated meat production - further signalling China's ambitions to shape international norms.

Domestically, China released a landmark joint two-year action plan earlier this year via the Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform. The plan designates the Pinggu district as a national hub for alternative proteins, including cultivated meat, a first-of-its-kind policy milestone for the country. Beijing is also home to China’s first Alternative Protein Innovation Centre, dedicated to R&D in cultivated and fermentation-derived proteins.

Importantly, the GFI report also notes that the majority of cultivated meat patent families in China are publicly owned, in contrast to the predominantly private ownership structure in the US. This public-sector dominance reflects Beijing’s broader goal of developing a national ecosystem of protein diversification, tightly aligned with its food sovereignty agenda.

The release of the report follows China's annual Two Sessions summit, during which high-level policymakers identified intellectual property protections for microbial and alternative proteins as a strategic priority, further cementing cultivated meat’s role in the country’s long-term planning.