Farmland reform has had an ugly history in China. Mao Zedong came to power in 1949 championing self-sufficiency in food but the agricultural reforms under his Great Leap Forward 10 years later resulted in famine that left at least 30m dead.

Six decades later and the communist government is still struggling to develop an agricultural framework to match its growing needs. This time, however, it is roping in the foreign private sector – thus Nestlé, the world’s biggest foodmaker who brands include Nescafé instant coffee and Kit Kats, is pioneering the country’s first dairy institute and adjacent 1,000-cow farm as part of national efforts to move from smallholder to big-scale dairy farming.

Other private sector and quasi-private sector companies, including Fonterraof New Zealand and Denmark’s Arla, are also being corralled to help restructure the country’s dairy industry – often with a little help. Since 2005, the central government has dispersed Rmb1.5bn ($238m) in subsidies, according to the China Dairy Association, with another Rmb260m to be granted this year.