With the China’s rapid economic growth, the country has become the largest primary energy consumer in the world, relying heavily on coal and petroleum (see Fig. 1), and, also the largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world (Dong et al., 2016). The interruptions in energy supply, environmental contamination, and growing dependence on energy imports (especially for crude oil, which imported accounts for about 60% of China’s total need in 2015) combine to make energy security and environmental protection to be two major problems faced by China (Ren et al., 2015; Ren and Sovacool, 2015). To have a sustainable future, China is seeking the adjustment on its energy structure by accelerating the use of renewable and environmentally friendly energy sources to substitute the traditional fossil fuels (Wen and Zhang, 2015; Dong et al., 2016). Biofuels are viewed as one ofthe most utilized sources of renewable energy and the promising alternatives to fossil fuels, especially in the transportation sector, due to their high potential to enhance energy security and mitigate environmental pollutions (Papapostolou et al., 2011; Ren et al., 2016). Moreover, as a leading agricultura nation, the development of the biofuel industry is conducive to promote the rural development in China. In recent years, China has launched programs to promote the production and supply of biofuel. The biofuel output has been increased by about fivefold between 2005 and 2015 (see Fig. 2). However, this amount accounts for only 3.25% of the global total biofuel output in 2015 (see Fig. 3), and is still very small comparing to the apparent consumption of petroleum product. Thus, the limited production of biofuels in China cannot fill the gap between energy demand and supply (Chen et al., 2016). Hence, for the sake of energy security and environmental protection, China’s biofuel production should be increased remarkably. To increase biofuel production, the stable and abundant supply of feedstock is indispensable and the first priority (Chen et al., 2016). However, China is suffering an undersupply of agricultural feedstock for biofuel production. For example, cassava, one of the most important biofuel crops in China, relies heavily on imports: imported cassava accounts for more than 60% of China’s total domestic need (Liu et al., 2013). Consequently, the design of sustainable biofuel supply chains to ensure the sustainable supply of agricultural feedstock, so as to enhance biofuel production is becoming more and more important nowadays.