Chinese characteristic urbanization path

Author: Wang Mengkui
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-03-01
Features: Practical experience over the years has shown that rural economy and urban economy are interconnected, interdependent, complementary, and mutually promoting. Rural development relies on the radiation and impetus from urban areas, while urban development also depends on the promotion and support from rural areas. Currently, we emphasize coordinated urban-rural economic and social development to fully leverage the driving role of cities in rural areas and the promoting role of rural areas in urban development, achieving integrated urban-rural economic and social development. This is both a major strategic approach to addressing the "three rural issues" and an effective measure to enhance the momentum of urban development. The transfer of surplus rural labor to non-agricultural industries and towns is an inevitable trend of industrialization and modernization, as well as an important way to increase farmers' income. In recent years, with the growing number of farmers migrating to cities and moving across regions, remuneration from migrant labor has become a significant component of farmers' income. Farmers working in cities have also contributed to the economic development of urban areas. From the perspective of national economic and social development, we should follow the principle of "fair treatment, reasonable guidance, improved management, and better service" to create favorable conditions for farmers migrating to cities, provide services and management for migrant workers, and offer vocational skill training and employment guidance. Farmers should be treated with kindness, and discriminatory policies and various against them should be cleared up. Efforts should be concentrated on resolving key issues such as some enterprises delaying or withholding wages, poor working conditions, and inadequate labor safety and occupational disease protection, to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of migrant workers. At the same time, effective management in areas such as public security, family planning, and community administration involving migrant workers must be ensured. Cities should also fully support the development of agriculture and rural economies in terms of technology diffusion, industrial transfer, and capital flow.
Improving the level of urbanization is a crucial aspect of coordinated urban-rural economic and social development. Since the reform and opening-up, China's urbanization has accelerated gradually, reaching 37.7% by 2001. However, compared to countries with similar development levels, it is still 10 to 20 percentage points lower, and the gap with developed countries is even greater. To enhance China's modernization level, address the issue of surplus rural labor, and increase farmers' income, we must pursue the path of industrialization and urbanization, transferring as many farmers as possible out of agriculture and rural areas. This is a common pattern for countries worldwide in achieving modernization. Of course, China's level of productive forces is still relatively low, and the rural population is large, making it unrealistic to achieve a significant leap in urbanization levels overnight. We must proceed in line with national conditions, promote coordinated development of cities of all sizes and small towns, and take the path of urbanization with Chinese characteristics, continuously improving the level of urbanization as the economy and society develop.
We should prioritize the development of small towns and accelerate their construction. The development of small towns should focus on existing county seats and a few central towns with established administrative status, with scientific planning and reasonable layout to prevent hasty expansion. The development of township enterprises and rural services should be organically integrated with small-town development, encouraging the concentration of township enterprises in small towns and promoting multi-channel and multi-form investments in infrastructure and public services for small towns, thereby improving their functionality.
Increasing support and protection for agriculture is an inevitable requirement for coordinated urban-rural economic and social development. Governments worldwide generally provide support and protection for agriculture. Many countries implement varying degrees of agricultural protection, with developed countries offering stronger protection. In recent years, international agricultural protection policies have undergone some changes, with a general trend of reducing expenditures on agricultural price support and export subsidies while increasing spending on public goods in agriculture and rural areas and direct income subsidies for farmers. This is an adjustment made by countries to adapt to WTO rules and enhance their agricultural competitiveness. It can be said that despite WTO rule constraints, countries' stance on agricultural protection has not changed; only the methods of protection have been altered.
The key to strengthening support and protection for agriculture lies in increasing investment. As the nation's strength grows, we must further adjust the structure of national income distribution and fiscal expenditures to increase investment in agriculture, gradually establishing a stable and growing mechanism for state funding for agricultural support.