The New Socialist Countryside

Bumper Harvest


Over 500m Tons for 6th Year in Row

Chinese farmers have begun to reap crops as autumn drew to a close, and the nation is expecting a good harvest this year. The country's grain output reached 530.8 million tonnes in 2009, the sixth consecutive year of growth in grain yield. >>>

550b kg Grain Outputs in 2020

China rolled out a productivity program for 50 billion kg grain output growth in the next 10 years, which is expected to reach 550 billion kilograms by 2020, said the National Development and Reform Commission. >>>

China Pays A Premium for Wheat

The government will pay a minimum for wheat. The move aims to encourage more wheat growth so as to stabilize the domestic market in the face of a fluctuating global environment and to ease to inflation expectations. >>>

Secure Farmland for Grain Security

The land consolidation campaign aimed at expanding farmland in rural areas to ensure national grain security. >>>

Xiaokang, Well-off Society 

Farmers' income can be doubled by 2020

The resolution draws an inspiring blueprint for the vast underdeveloped rural areas under the new situations at home and abroad. The document says per capita net income of the country's rural population would be doubled and absolute poverty would be eliminated in rural areas. >>>

Create Jobs in Rural Areas

To build a modern socialist countryside, we must curb the one-way drain of rural talents to cities and equip the countryside with enough talents. If the government can encourage urban entrepreneurs on time to start businesses in the countryside, more jobs will be created in rural areas. >>>

Documents Target Rural Issues

The document highlighted challenges posed by the global downturn to agricultural and rural development. It said "developing modern agriculture is the Chinese government's top priority in building a new socialist countryside, and has proven to be the basic channel through which farmers' incomes can be increased". >>>

 Boquan Village in Hebei

Nanjie Village in Henan 

Cunguan, the Village Head

The popular Chinese expression cunguan (village head) is a potent one. It suggests the integration of a university graduate's future with the mission to develop the new socialist countryside.

President Hu Jintao endorsed this integration after he received a letter from a graduate-turned village head in suburban Beijing. The gesture points to the far-reaching impact of this mission involving thousands of college graduates.

Actually, this integration reflects mutual dependence between rural villages and university graduates who choose to go there.

Village Election

China has unleashed new measures to clean up rural elections and deepen democratic procedures at a grassroots level.

A circular, jointly issued by the General Office of the State Council and the General Office of Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, aims to curb the bribery of village voters and officials, with 12 provinces set to go to the polls.

The country has 604,000 village committees, involving more than 2.3 million rural citizens, and are "among the widest forms of socialist democracy in China".