BIZCHINA / Weekly Roundup
New socialist countryside
(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2006-03-10 16:40
The central government recently released an important policy document on
building "a new socialist countryside," and established it as one of the
primary objectives of the 11th Five-Year (2006-10) Guidelines for
National Economic and Social Development.
Legislators discussed the policy during the session of the National
People's Congress (March 5-14). The newspersons and netizens reported and
expressed their concern over the mainstream topic.
Here are questions and answers to clarify the national programme.
Q: What does the concept of "a new socialist countryside" mean?
A. A new socialist countryside means advanced production, improved
livelihood, a civilized social atmosphere, clean and tidy villages and
efficient management.
Q: Why is the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC)
putting forward the concept of building a new socialist countryside now?
A: Five reasons:
1) The social and economic development of China and the need to upgrade
people's living standards in the countryside both have made demands on
the country's agricultural sector. But so far, the sector has not met
those demands because it lacks a solid foundation.
One problem is that the amount of cultivated land is shrinking. Lacking
irrigation facilities, many farmers are forced to depend on nature. Both
scientific and financial support of the agricultural sector is weak. When
disasters occur, losses are huge.
2) The widening gap in the quality of life between the cities and the
countryside demands the nation's attention.
The income gap between rural and urban residents has widened from 2.57 to
1 in 1978 to 3.22 to 1 in 2005. Infrastructure, health care, and
educational and cultural undertakings in rural areas are far behind those
in the cities.
3) China's fast-growing economy and its stronger position in the global
community have enabled the country to start to provide an atmosphere in
which industries support agriculture and cities support the countryside.
4) Constructing a new countryside is essential to expanding domestic
demands.
Farmers, who make up nearly 60 per cent of China's population, have
contributed less than one-third of the total retail output. The slow
increase in farmers' income is keeping the overall economy from
developing any faster.
5) Building a harmonious society demands that the achievements and
responsibilities of economic and social development be shared by all
people. Problems in co-ordinating urban and rural development need to be
solved because if the gap between urban and rural quality of life grows
even wider, a harmonious society would be harder to achieve.
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