context: For the past 14 years, the first major central policy document of the year has focused on rural and agricultural policy, laying out a specific policy agenda for the coming year. This year, however, the document outlines a vision for integrating previously disparate policy arenas. The 2018 No. 1 Document lays out a plan to dissolve institutional barriers between rural and urban policy, and integrate farming with its upstream and downstream industries. While the outline below is dry, the agenda it describes—rebuilding institutional structures within the state and the party, adjusting rural property rights and opening the countryside to industrial development and private capital—is set to fundamentally rewrite the rules of the game.
CCP Central Committee and State Council issued the 2018 No. 1 Document, titled 'Opinions on implementing rural revitalisation strategy'. The document lays out long-term strategic goals on rural revitalisation, and notes additional policy details will be included in a forthcoming 'National Rural Revitalisation Strategic Plan (2018–22)'.
- strategic goals
- ‘significant progress’ on rural revitalisation by 2020
- forming new institutional framework and policy system
- ‘decisive progress’ on rural revitalisation by 2035
- modernisation of agriculture and rural areas having basically complete
- comprehensive rural revitalisation including strong agriculture, beautiful countryside and full realisation of farmer wealth by 2050
- basic principles, mandating adherence to
- Party leadership of rural work
- prioritising development of agriculture and rural areas
- dominant position of farmers
- full rural revitalisation including rural economic, political, cultural, social, ecological and party revitalisation
- urban and rural integration
- harmonious coexistence of man and nature
- consideration of local conditions
- enhancing the quality of agricultural development
- consolidating basic work on agricultural production capacity and grain security
- moving from yield-oriented to quality-oriented agricultural production
- vertical integration to extend the value chain
- establishing a new pattern of opening up in agriculture
- optimising allocation of resources, focus on cost-efficiency and enhance the international competitiveness of China's agricultural products
- promoting export of agricultural products where China has special advantages, and increasing export of agricultural products with high added value
- building and improving China's agricultural trade policy system
- deepening trade in agricultural products with ‘Belt and Road’ countries
- actively supporting agriculture Going Global, and developing large grain traders and agribusiness groups that are internationally competitive
- actively participating in global food security governance and the formulation of agricultural trade rules, and promoting the formation of a more fair and rational agricultural international trade order
- further increasing comprehensive control over smuggling of agricultural products
-
integrating small households into agricultural modernisation
- rural green development
- improving management freshwater and grasslands
- reducing ag pollution, focusing on non-point source pollution, such as chemical fertiliser and livestock waste pollution
- establishing market-based and diverse ecological compensation mechanisms
- increasing the supply of environmentally friendly rural goods and services (e.g. organic fruits, rural tourism)
- rural civilisation
- strengthening rural ideological and moral education led by socialist core values
- preserving and developing rural traditional culture
- developing rural public culture, focusing on literature and arts talent cultivation and public culture creation
- transforming rural customs, especially outmoded conventions and feudal superstition
- a new rural governance system
- strengthening construction of rural grass-roots party organisations
- deepening village self-governance to allocate resources, services and governance at grass roots
- rural governance based on laws and ethics
- improving rural safety levels, focusing on rural underworld crime and clans
- rural livelihood system
- developing the rural education system, including compulsory education, high-school education and vocational education
- facilitating rural labour migration and increasing farmers’ income
- upgrading rural infrastructure, including rural informatisation
- improving rural social security system, including medical security, old-age security, disability security and security on other disadvantaged groups, such as left-behind children
- strengthening rural public medical service
- improving rural environment, including upgrading toilets, sewage treatment, building renovations and afforestation
- targeted poverty alleviation
- focusing on poor people and regions of extreme poverty
- improving skills of poor people
- making poverty alleviation plans and strengthening supervision
- innovating rural institutional framework to activate productive factors and markets
- stabilising rural farmland contract system, including extending contracts for 30 years; land contract registration and certification; and separating land ownership, contract and management rights
- deepening rural land reform, focusing on rural homestead land and collective-owned construction land
- promoting rural collective ownership reform, encouraging farmers to hold shares of collective assets
- completing agricultural protection systems, such as agricultural product reserve purchase and storage systems and pricing systems
- developing talent in rural areas
- cultivating new professional farmers
- cultivating rural experts including teachers and agricultural managers
- encouraging scientists and technicians to serve rural areas
- attracting talent to participate in rural revitalisation
- innovating rural talent cultivation and inflow mechanisms
- expanding investment sources and safeguarding rural revitalisation financial inputs
- increasing public finance input, focusing on new agribusiness operators
- sourcing financial inputs from land transfers
- improving rural financial services, especially new listings of agriculture-related enterprises, developing agricultural product future market, piloting ‘insurance+future’ model
- strengthening Party leadership on ‘three rural’ work
- improving Party leadership mechanism over rural work
- writing Party rural work regulations
- cultivating leaders for three rurals work
- writing a National Strategic Plan for Rural Revitalisation (2018–22)
- ensuring laws, regulations, and policies for rural revitalisation are in place, especially legislation related to on grain security
- creating a good atmosphere for rural revitalisation, including theoretical research and international exchange