A former World Bank president has told the BBC that China should stop hoarding food and fertiliser to ease a global supply crisis caused by the Iran war.
David Malpass, who also served as Treasury Under Secretary for International Affairs under US President Donald Trump from 2017 to 2019, was speaking to the World Service's World Business Report on the eve of the Trump-Xi summit in Beijing.
"They have the biggest world stockpile of food stuffs and of fertiliser," he said. "They can stop building their stockpiles."
His comments come as nations around the world scramble to secure fertiliser supplies ahead of spring planting, with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz severely disrupting shipments.
China has itself halted fertiliser exports since March, citing the need to protect domestic supplies.
