Typical Cases: Reference Model for Building Socialist New Countryside

Author: Sun Jun, Wang Foquan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-04-01
Features: The 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China proposed the historic task of building a new socialist countryside and incorporated it into the main objectives of the 11th Five-Year Plan for economic and social development. This is a major strategic measure to fundamentally address the "three rural issues" (agriculture, rural areas, and farmers), indicating that building a new socialist countryside will become the overall approach and key focus of China's "three rural issues" work in the coming period. The Central Committee's proposal for the 11th Five-Year Plan states: "Adhere to the principle of 'giving more while taking less,' increase the investment of all levels of government in rural areas, expand the scope of public finance covering rural areas, strengthen the government's services to rural areas, and establish a long-term mechanism for promoting agriculture through industry and leading rural areas with urban development." Therefore, it can be said that the major policies are set, and the goals and requirements are clear. Under the premise of promoting coordinated urban-rural development, the conditions for building a new socialist countryside are ripe. However, due to the long-standing existence of the urban-rural dual structure, agriculture remains a weak link in the national economy. The development of rural areas and the living standards of farmers still lag behind those of urban areas, and the gap is gradually widening. Some deep-seated contradictions in rural society are difficult to eliminate. Building a new socialist countryside is a heavy task with a long road ahead, requiring the resolution of many prominent issues in both the present and the long term.