They have cows in China don’t they? Can’t they make their own cheese? Are they totally helpless? They’re sending rockets to the moon and building aircraft carriers, but they can’t raise cows?
I do notice the mention of China. Chinese diets are not typically high in dairy. Lactose intolerance is a widespread condition in the Orient, hand in hand with this. This does sound odd.
Not a lot of cows in China.
Oddly enough they do have considerable marginal grassland/pasturage in many parts towards central Asia that maybe could be used for ranching.