China's rural revitalization development garners international attention

In his report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and Chinese president, said the country will advance rural revitalization across the board, continue to put agricultural and rural development first, pursue integrated development of urban and rural areas, and facilitate the flows of production factors between them.

China's agricultural output and rural economy maintained sound growth momentum in the first half of this year. The special industries of former poverty-stricken regions have grown smoothly and made great strides in the creation of employment opportunities, as well as the improvement of people's incomes. Right now, rural areas have made notable progress in their industrial development and the expansion of channels for their people to get employed and earn more money.

Many foreign media organizations have covered China's commitment to comprehensively promote rural revitalization and its historic achievements in the development of rural tourism, special industries and rural e-commerce. La Agencia EFE of Spain reported tremendous changes that have taken place in Shibadong, a mountainous village of the Miao ethnic group in Western Hunan Province and the cradle of China's targeted poverty alleviation strategy, over the past decade. The Spanish media outlet said that the development of rural tourism, including distinctive folk cultural activities, has become a driving force for China to promote industry-oriented poverty reduction. Right now, the adoption of e-commerce and livestream approaches has helped people from Shibadong Village and Hequn Village sell their agricultural products nationwide. Statistics show that the annual sales revenue of rice at Hequn has surged from nearly zero to 1.13 million yuan ($157,183) over the past decade. In addition, a rising number of young people have come back from cities and taken part in the building of their hometown. The Straits Times of Singapore reported that the implementation of rural revitalization strategy is aimed at advancing the modernization of China's agricultural sectors and addressing the imbalance between urban and rural areas and that it is of vital importance for the country to achieve common prosperity. Shibadong has become a demonstration example for rural revitalization. The per capita disposable income of residents grew from 1,668 yuan in 2013 to 20,167 yuan in 2021. Local villagers have benefited from the planting of kiwi fruit and the management of agritainment business.

Argentinian newspaper Clarin said that the implementation of rural revitalization in China is mainly designed to systematically improve the public well-being of rural people. Right now, the country has basically achieved the coverage of internet infrastructure in rural areas, made huge investments to promote the development of agricultural sectors, and helped rural people sell their agricultural products across the country and even the world. In addition, the Chinese government has taken special facilitation measures to guide the flow of high-quality medical resources into rural areas. The Argentinian media outlet stressed that rural revitalization is crucial for China to achieve the integrated development between urban and rural regions and that the brand building of agricultural produces is conducive to further enhancing the added value of agricultural commodities.