The Chinese government is determined to modernize the
agricultural industry and will invest more money in the country's
vast rural areas.
Addressing the annual central rural work conference which closed
Saturday, Chinese Vice Premier Hui Liangyu said that the agricultural industry
and the rural areas had continued to develop in 2006 despite a
series of natural disasters and increasingly fierce trade
competition.
Sources at the meeting said that agricultural reform should be
pursued, policies in favor of farmers strengthened and public
services in rural areas improved.
"However, there are still a whole raft of very complex and
challenging issues concerning farmers, rural areas and the
agricultural industry as a whole," Hui said.
Greater efforts will be made to improve land productivity, the
efficiency with which resources are utilized and technological
capacity in the industry.
To ensure basic medical services for farmers, the new
cooperative medical care system will be expanded to cover 80
percent of China's rural areas next year, according to the
meeting.
At present, 40 percent of rural areas, or 200 million farmers,
are covered by the cooperative medical care system to which
farmers, local government and central government all
contribute.
148 million elementary and primary students in rural areas will
be exempted from tuition fees starting from 2007 and a new
compulsory educational financing system will be established.
In 2006, 50 million elementary and primary students in western
China's rural areas were exempted from all educational charges
except textbook fees.
The government will also press ahead with a national social
security system in both urban and rural areas.
(Xinhua News Agency December 24, 2006)