Salmon in the Philippines is considered food for rich people. It’s nutritious but since it’s imported (mostly from Chile and Norway), it’s expensive for ordinary Filipinos. Chinese food technology research offers the enticing prospect of making affordable salmon prices. But it’s not that simple, as the research by Washington-based journalist Ian Urbina shows.

China is marketing fish from Xinjiang as a triumph of technology and frontier development. But behind the sales pitch lies a deeper struggle over fraud, trust, and the political remaking of a heavily scrutinized region.

Eighty-four percent of Filipino adults encountered a scam this year, up from 77% in 2025, according to the Global Anti-Scam Alliance’s State of Scams Philippines 2026 report.