Xi Jinping attends the Central Rural Work Conference and delivers an important speech.

Source: Xinhua News Agency

Xi Jinping emphasized at the Central Rural Work Conference
Insist on solving well the 'three rural' issues as the top priority of the entire Party's work
Promote high-quality and efficient agriculture, livable and workable rural areas, and prosperous and affluent farmers
Li Keqiang presided over Li Zhanshu, Wang Yang, Wang Huning, Zhao Leji, and Han Zheng attended

Xinhua News Agency Beijing December 29 - The Central Rural Work Conference was held in Beijing from December 28 to 29. Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, President of the State, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, attended the meeting and delivered an important speech emphasizing that at the historical juncture of advancing toward the second centenary goal, consolidating and expanding the achievements of poverty alleviation, comprehensively promoting rural revitalization, and accelerating agricultural and rural modernization is a major issue that requires the entire Party's high attention and concerns the overall situation. The whole Party must fully recognize the importance and urgency of doing a good job in the 'three rural' work in the new development stage, insist on solving the 'three rural' issues as the top priority of the entire Party's work, and mobilize the whole Party and society to promote rural revitalization, promote high-quality and efficient agriculture, livable and workable rural areas, and prosperous and affluent farmers.

Li Keqiang, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Premier of the State Council, presided over the meeting. Li Zhanshu, Wang Yang, Wang Huning, Zhao Leji, and Han Zheng, members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, attended the meeting.

From December 28 to 29, the Central Rural Work Conference was held in Beijing. Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, President of the State, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, attended the meeting and delivered an important speech. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Xueren.

In his speech, Xi Jinping pointed out that after the founding of our Party, it fully recognized that the fundamental issue of the Chinese revolution was the peasant issue and took seeking happiness for the broad masses of peasants as an important mission. Since the reform and opening up, our Party has led the peasants to take the lead in launching the reform, continuously liberating and developing rural social productive forces, and promoting comprehensive progress in rural areas. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee has insisted on solving the 'three rural' issues as the top priority of the entire Party's work, taking poverty alleviation as a landmark project for building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, organizing and promoting the largest, most intensive, and most populous poverty alleviation campaign in human history, launching the rural revitalization strategy, and promoting historic achievements and historic changes in agriculture and rural areas. The comprehensive agricultural production capacity has reached a new level, farmers' incomes have more than doubled compared to 2010, rural people's livelihoods have significantly improved, and the rural landscape has been completely renewed. Tremendous changes have taken place in poverty-stricken areas, achieving historic success in solving the absolute poverty problem that has plagued the Chinese nation for thousands of years, making a significant contribution to building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, and laying a solid foundation for embarking on a new journey to fully build a modern socialist country.

Xi Jinping emphasized that from the overall strategic perspective of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, for the nation to rejuvenate, the countryside must revitalize. From the perspective of the unprecedented global changes unseen in a century, stabilizing the agricultural foundation and safeguarding the 'three rural' foundation is the 'ballast stone' for responding to and opening up new situations. Building a new development pattern with the strategic focus on expanding domestic demand, rural areas have huge space and great potential.

Xi Jinping pointed out that history and reality both tell us that agriculture is the foundation of the country; when the foundation is solid, the country is peaceful. We must adhere to a broad historical perspective to view agriculture, rural areas, and farmers' issues. Only by deeply understanding the 'three rural' issues can we better understand our Party, our country, and our nation. It must be seen that to comprehensively build a modern socialist country and realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, the most arduous and heavy tasks still lie in rural areas, and the broadest and deepest foundation still lies in rural areas.

Xi Jinping emphasized that after the victory of poverty alleviation, comprehensive rural revitalization must be promoted, marking a historic shift in the focus of the 'three rural' work. We must firmly safeguard the achievements of poverty alleviation, ensure the effective connection between consolidating and expanding poverty alleviation achievements and rural revitalization, with no gaps in work or policy. We must improve the dynamic monitoring and assistance mechanism to prevent returning to poverty, implement normalized monitoring for populations prone to poverty, focusing on income changes and consolidation of the 'two assurances and three guarantees,' and continue precise policies. Industrial assistance in poverty-stricken areas must continue, addressing shortcomings in technology, facilities, and marketing to promote industrial upgrading. We must strengthen follow-up support for relocated populations, promote employment through multiple channels, enhance supporting infrastructure and public services, and improve social management to ensure relocated people can settle stably, find employment, and gradually become prosperous. The Party Central Committee has decided that after the poverty alleviation goals are achieved, a five-year transition period will be set for counties that have been lifted out of poverty, starting from the date of poverty elimination. During the transition period, major assistance policies will remain generally stable. Existing assistance policies will be optimized and adjusted by category, with reasonable control over the pace, intensity, and duration of adjustments, gradually achieving a smooth transition from concentrated resource support for poverty alleviation to comprehensive promotion of rural revitalization.

Xi Jinping pointed out that we must firmly grasp the initiative of food security, and food production must be prioritized every year. We must strictly guard the red line of 1.8 billion mu of arable land, take tough measures with 'teeth,' and implement the strictest arable land protection system. We must build high-standard farmland to truly achieve drought and flood protection, high yield, and stable production. Protecting black soil must be treated as a major task, making good use of and nurturing black soil. We must insist on agricultural science and technology self-reliance and self-improvement, accelerate key core technology breakthroughs in agriculture, motivate farmers to grow grain, stabilize and strengthen grain farmer subsidies, improve storage and regulation capabilities, adhere to improving the minimum purchase price policy, and expand the scope of full cost and income insurance. Local party committees and governments at all levels must shoulder the political responsibility for food security, implement joint responsibility of party and government, with governors responsible for the 'rice bag,' and secretaries also responsible. We must deepen the supply-side structural reform of agriculture, promote variety improvement, quality enhancement, brand building, and standardized production. We must continue to promote the recovery of pig production and promote stable industrial development. We must support enterprises to go global. We must persistently stop food waste in catering.

From December 28 to 29, the Central Rural Work Conference was held in Beijing. Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, President of the State, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, attended the meeting and delivered an important speech. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Ye.

Xi Jinping emphasized that the depth, breadth, and difficulty of fully implementing the rural revitalization strategy are no less than those of poverty alleviation, and that top-level design must be strengthened to promote progress with stronger measures and greater collective strength. First, accelerate the development of rural industries, follow industrial development laws, base on local characteristic resources, promote the growth and expansion of rural industries, optimize industrial layout, improve benefit linkage mechanisms, and allow farmers to share more of the added value of industries. Second, strengthen the construction of socialist spiritual civilization, enhance rural ideological and moral development, promote and practice the core socialist values, popularize scientific knowledge, advance rural customs reform, and foster civilized rural customs, good family traditions, and simple folk customs. Third, strengthen rural ecological civilization construction, maintain strategic determination, advance agricultural non-point source pollution control with a nail-spirit approach, and strengthen governance and restoration of soil pollution, groundwater over-extraction, and soil erosion. Fourth, deepen rural reform, accelerate reforms in key rural areas and critical links, stimulate the vitality of rural resources and factors, improve agricultural support and protection systems, respect grassroots and public creativity, and promote continuous breakthroughs in reform. Fifth, implement rural construction actions, continue to focus public infrastructure construction on rural areas, persist in promoting equalization of basic urban and rural public services, and emphasize strengthening inclusive, bottom-line, and fundamental livelihood construction. Continue advancing rural living environment improvement actions, focusing on toilet renovation and sewage and garbage treatment. Reasonably determine village layout classifications, pay attention to protecting traditional villages and rural characteristic landscapes, and strengthen classified guidance. Sixth, promote effective urban-rural integrated development, improve systems and mechanisms for urban-rural integration, and facilitate the urbanization of agricultural migrant populations. Use counties as important entry points for urban-rural integration, grant counties more autonomy in resource integration and use, and strengthen comprehensive service capabilities of county towns. Seventh, strengthen and improve rural governance, accelerate the construction of a rural governance system led by Party organizations, deeply advance safe rural construction, innovate rural governance methods, and improve rural good governance levels.

Xi Jinping pointed out the need to strengthen the Party's comprehensive leadership over the "three rural issues" (agriculture, rural areas, and farmers). Party committees at all levels must shoulder political responsibility, implement the priority development policy for agriculture and rural areas, and promote rural revitalization with greater efforts. County Party secretaries should focus their main energy on the "three rural issues" and serve as the "frontline commander" for rural revitalization. It is necessary to select and strengthen township leadership teams, village "two committees" members, especially village Party branch secretaries. Emphasize grassroots work, strengthen foundations, and consolidate basics, promoting the downward flow of various resources to the grassroots to create better conditions for grassroots entrepreneurship. Build a rural revitalization cadre team with strong politics, skills, and work style, dispatch a group of outstanding cadres to frontline rural revitalization posts, and use rural revitalization as a broad stage for cultivating and training cadres. Attract various talents to contribute to rural revitalization and stimulate the enthusiasm, initiative, and creativity of the broad masses of farmers.

From December 28 to 29, the Central Rural Work Conference was held in Beijing. Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, President of the State, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, attended the meeting and delivered an important speech. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Ye.

Li Keqiang pointed out while presiding over the meeting that General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speech comprehensively summarized the historic achievements and historic changes in China's agricultural and rural development since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. From the overall perspective of building a socialist modern country, it profoundly explained the great significance, guiding ideology, and overall requirements for comprehensively promoting rural revitalization and accelerating agricultural and rural modernization, scientifically answering a series of major theoretical and practical issues in doing a good job in the "three rural issues" in the new development stage. This has very important guiding significance for further unifying thoughts, gathering strength, and doing a good job in the "three rural issues" in the new era. We must earnestly study and understand, adhere to the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, combine with actual work, focus on prioritizing agricultural and rural development, comprehensively promote rural revitalization, accelerate agricultural and rural modernization, and do a good job in the "three rural issues" work for next year and the 14th Five-Year Plan period, implementing the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee.

Hu Chunhua, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council, said in his concluding remarks that General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speech is the action guideline and fundamental adherence for doing a good job in the "three rural issues" in the new development stage. We must deeply study and implement the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speech, promptly plan to comprehensively promote rural revitalization, consolidate and expand the achievements of poverty alleviation and effectively connect them with rural revitalization, ensure the production and supply of grain and important agricultural and sideline products, accelerate the development of rural industries, consolidate the foundation for modern agricultural development, resolutely win the battle to turn around the seed industry, fully launch rural construction actions, promote urban-rural integration within counties, strengthen and improve rural governance, enhance organizational leadership, and ensure a good start for the 14th Five-Year Plan.

The meeting discussed the "Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Comprehensively Promoting Rural Revitalization and Accelerating Agricultural and Rural Modernization (Draft for Discussion)."

Some members of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, secretaries of the Central Secretariat, and relevant leaders from the National People's Congress Standing Committee, the State Council, and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference attended the meeting.

Members of the Central Rural Work Leading Group, main responsible comrades of Party and government in provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government, cities specifically designated in the state plan, and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, as well as comrades responsible for agriculture and rural work, relevant departments of central and state organs, relevant people's organizations, and relevant departments of the Central Military Commission attended the meeting. The meeting was held via teleconference, with sub-venues set up in provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities, and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.