Sannongfabu.ntv.cn:

The rural revitalization strategy was put forward at the 19th CPC National Congress. What major progress has been made during the implementation? Are there any good practices in advancing it? Thank you. 

Zeng Yande:

Thanks for your questions. Implementing the rural revitalization strategy is a significant arrangement made at the 19th CPC National Congress. Over the past five years, General Secretary Xi Jinping has deployed and promoted the strategy personally, made a series of important propositions and instructions, and explained a host of major theoretical and practical issues. He has taken the lead and steered the strategy in the right direction. The central authorities have issued five "No. 1 central documents" successively, laying out specific plans for implementing the rural revitalization strategy and setting clear priorities for gradual implementation item by item and year by year. All localities and relevant government departments have earnestly implemented related decisions and plans of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, upheld the values of developing and building for rural residents, followed the law of rural development in their work, focused on key areas, pooled resources and strength, and made solid progress in implementing the strategy. 

Mr. Deng Xiaogang just gave a comprehensive introduction. I think the achievements of the rural revitalization strategy bear the following three hallmarks. First, grain production capacity has been consolidated and increased. The country's annual grain output has stayed over 650 million metric tons for seven consecutive years, helping to guarantee supply, stabilize prices, and prevent inflation. Second, a complete victory in the fight against poverty has been attained. By the current standard, all of the 98.99 million rural poor, as well as the 832 counties and 128,000 villages classified as poor, have emerged from poverty, historically ending extreme poverty in China. The achievements of poverty alleviation have also been consolidated. Third, rural areas have markedly improved. Roads, water supply, power grids, and other infrastructure have been upgraded. Education, healthcare, and other basic public services have also been enhanced and expanded. All administrative villages where conditions permit have been accessible by paved roads and buses, and tap water coverage has reached 84% in rural areas. In addition, there are more channels for farmers to find jobs and increase their incomes. Rural areas have better ecological environment and enjoy stability and safety, laying a solid foundation for comprehensively promoting rural revitalization and accelerating agricultural and rural modernization. 

China's rural revitalization has achieved positive progress due to the concerted efforts of various factors. We believe that they are mainly manifested as follows.

First, we have strengthened organization and leadership for coordinated advancement. The central authorities have made it clear that it is necessary to establish a leadership responsibility system for implementing the rural revitalization strategy and implement a working mechanism with the central authorities responsible for the overall planning, provincial-level regions assuming overall responsibility, and cities and counties responsible for implementation. Heads of the Party committees and governments take the prime responsibility, and Party secretaries at the five administrative levels (provincial, city, county, township, and village levels) work toward rural revitalization. This is the strength of our system and a potent measure to advance our work. Over the past five years, the leading Party and government officials at all levels have stepped up to their responsibilities, made overall plans, enhanced measures, clarified annual tasks, and divided responsibilities at different levels, promoting the implementation of the rural revitalization strategy in an effective and orderly manner. 

Second, we have upheld the guidance of plans for orderly progress. The central authorities issued the Strategic Plan for Rural Revitalization (2018-2022), defining the development goals, key tasks, and supporting measures for implementing the strategy. Aligning with the national plan, all 31 provincial-level regions have issued rural revitalization schemes, and more than 80% of cities and counties have formulated local plans or implementation measures to promote rural revitalization in their respective regions on a categorized and orderly basis. Relevant departments have drawn up rural industry plans, digital village plans, and special programs for innovation-driven rural revitalization, detailing targets and tasks for rural revitalization based on different sectors and fields. 

Third, we have pooled resources and production factors for efficient advancement. The key is channeling resources and production factors into rural areas to boost agriculture, develop rural areas and help rural residents get rich. To begin with, we have bolstered diverse input. Financial departments at all levels have prioritized rural revitalization in their budget arrangements and encouraged more revenue from land transactions to be spent on agriculture and rural areas. Some provinces have explored setting up rural revitalization funds and inspired more local government bonds to support rural revitalization. Additionally, we have better secured land use. We have introduced land-use policies to ensure and regulate the integrated development of primary, secondary, and tertiary industries in rural areas, standardized the management of land used for facilities, and put rural land held in reserve for construction to good use. Furthermore, we have attracted and cultivated rural talents and devised guidelines in this regard. We have fully implemented the special employment plan for agricultural technology extension, vigorously trained rural craftsmen, and guided urban talents to contribute to rural areas.

Fourth, we have strengthened supervision, inspection, and motivation in promoting rural revitalization. Supervision and inspection play an important role in rural revitalization. On the one hand, we have conducted monitoring and evaluation through an evaluation system that objectively reflects the progress in rural revitalization. We also evaluate the progress of rural revitalization of each region and department through ways of field inspection, written reports, and follow-up investigations. On the other hand, we have been pushing forward performance evaluations by issuing a measure that assesses the progress in rural revitalization made by municipal- and county-level officials. All the 31 provincial-level regions in China have formulated their evaluation measures and established incentive and constraint mechanisms , including bonuses, quotas for land use, and job promotions to better use the evaluation results. This year, we have given incentives to 20 cities and counties that have made notable progress in rural revitalization.

Fifth, we have mobilized efforts across the society to promote rural revitalization. As a systematic project, rural revitalization needs the participation of all social forces like the people's organizations, social organizations, enterprises, and public institutions. We have also launched the "10,000 private enterprises revitalizing 10,000 villages" initiative, and supported private enterprises and industrial and commercial capital to invest in rural areas. Therefore, the government, society, and the market can all play their roles in promoting rural revitalization.

Sixth, we have improved the legal support to promote rural revitalization. We published and implemented the Rural Revitalization Promotion Law, the first basic law that comprehensively promotes the development of rural areas. In accordance with the laws and regulations, related departments are now busy formulating and amending supporting rules and regulations to make operable measures that can facilitate and evaluate the progress in rural revitalization. For example, 13 provinces like Zhejiang, Guangdong, and Jiangxi have introduced specific measures to promote rural revitalization, creating a better legal environment for the development of the rural areas. Thank you.

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