Since the onset of the international financial crisis the Chinese government has responded positively in implementing a series of policies to stabilize the economy, most of them aimed at improving people's livelihoods. At the 2008 Central Economic Work Conference many issues relating to people's vital interests were put forward as being within the reasonable expectations of the public. In response, Vice director of the Social Policy Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Yang Tuan provided an analysis and gave her views on some of today's hottest topics in an interview with China.org.cn.

Yang Tuan ,Vice director of the Social Policy Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences [China.org.cn]

According to Yang Tuan, one of the most important issues is that of agricultural cooperatives, because the time has come for these cooperatives to take on the Ministry of Finance's development projects.

"In the past it was local governments who undertook all the agricultural development projects," Yang said. "For the first time, the Ministry of Finance has ordered agricultural cooperatives to take on this responsibility. The fact that the agricultural cooperatives will be involved in the step-by-step implementation of these projects will help to resolve many of the problems we have encountered in the past."

"For example, in the past when a local government planned to drill a water well on the farmland of an individual farmer in order to improve a rural area's public facilities, it could meet resistance from the farmer, who might object to the government undertaking a project on his land because such a well would be for the general use of all the local people.

"When agricultural cooperatives undertake these projects, the situation is completely different. Farmers treat agricultural cooperatives as their own organizations, and their projects as their own business. In dealing with such problems as that described above, famers will discuss with each other where the water well should be drilled, and come to a speedy and effective resolution to the problem. So I think the involvement of the agricultural cooperatives in these projects is a good trend, and a positive one for our rural development.

"Furthermore, through these agricultural cooperatives – peasant organizations – our farmers themselves can play a very important role in rural infrastructure development, something that corresponds to the spirit of the Central Economic Work Conference."

"In the future there will be significant investment in farmland development projects, and rural infrastructure is very important," Yang added. "For a start, improvements in rural infrastructure can promote agricultural development; and what's more farmers will be encouraged to participate widely in rural affairs."

For information about international financial crisis, check here

(China.org.cn by Ma Yujia December 16, 2008)