A profound understanding of the significance of building a new socialist countryside﹡

（二OOFebruary 14, six years)

Hu Jintao

Since the founding of New China, especially since the reform and opening up, my country's agriculture and rural areas have undergone historic and profound changes, and rural economic and social development has achieved great achievements that are recognized throughout the world. my country's grain output increased from 609.5 billion kilograms in 1978 to 20%OONinety-six hundred and sixty-eight billion catties in five years, 1979 to FebruaryOOThe five-year average annual growth rate is 1.7%; meat production increased from 8.56 million tons in 1978 to 20%.OOSeventy-seven million tons in five years, 1979-2OOThe five-year average annual growth rate is 8.5%; the per capita net income of farmers increased from 134 yuan in 1978 to 2%OOThree thousand two hundred and fifty-five yuan for five years, deducting price factors, from 1979 to FebruaryOOThe five-year average annual real growth rate is 7%; the Engel coefficient of rural residents’ living consumption dropped from 67.7% in 1978 to 2OO45.5% in five years, a decrease of 22.2 percentage points; rural poverty population 2OOIn five years, there were 23.65 million people, 226 million fewer than in 1978, and the poverty incidence rate dropped by 28.2 percentage points. We use less than 9% of the world's arable land to feed 21% of the world's population, and have better solved the problem of feeding 1.3 billion people. The long-term shortage of agricultural products has turned into a basic balance in the total amount and a surplus of good harvests. The secondary and tertiary industries in rural areas have flourished. The living standards of farmers have significantly improved. Rural social undertakings have continued to progress. The construction of rural democracy, legal system and spiritual civilization have been comprehensively advanced. Agriculture and rural areas have shown a vigorous development situation.

However, we must be soberly aware that my country's agricultural and rural development is still in a difficult climbing stage. The deep-seated contradictions that restrict agricultural and rural development have not yet been eliminated. A long-term mechanism to promote farmers' sustained and stable income increase has not yet been formed. The situation of lagging rural economic and social development has not been fundamentally changed. The main outstanding problems are: First, the agricultural foundation is weak and the productivity level is low. Generally speaking, our country's agriculture still depends on the weather, and manual labor still accounts for a large proportion. Agriculture's ability to withstand natural disasters is not strong, its comprehensive agricultural production capacity is not high, and a long-term mechanism to steadily increase the production of agricultural products, especially grain, has not yet been formed. The contribution rate of science and technology to agricultural growth is not high yet. On average, the amount of grain, meat, fruits and other agricultural products produced by each agricultural labor force in a year is only a few tenths of that in developed countries. The per capita amount of major agricultural products such as grain and meat is less than half that of developed countries. The agricultural product market faces huge challenges from international competition. Second, the income level of farmers is low and the income gap between urban and rural residents is widening. Farmers' income is low, growth is slow, and rural consumption is not strong. The income ratio of urban and rural residents was 1.81:1 in 1984, and expanded to 2.86:1 in 1994. 2OOFive years further expanded to 3.22:1. The proportion of retail sales of consumer goods in rural areas to the total retail sales of consumer goods in society, from 198OSixty-five point seven percent of the year dropped to twoOOThirty-two point nine percent for five years. In the past two years, farmers' income has achieved rapid growth, but the foundation for increasing farmers' income is not solid, and it is still very difficult for farmers to increase their income. Third, the development of rural public utilities lags behind, and the contrast between urban and rural areas is large. The gap in the development of urban and rural infrastructure and social undertakings is one of the main manifestations of the current gap between urban and rural areas in my country. The problem of backward production and living infrastructure in rural areas is prominent. The development of rural education, health, culture and other social undertakings is lagging behind. Problems such as difficulty in going to w88 casino and medical treatment are still quite prominent. The level of education in rural areas is still low, and there are still many people who are illiterate or have little literacy. Among the country's 490 million rural labor force, only 13% have a high w88 casino education or above, 29.2% have a primary w88 casino education, and 7.5% are illiterate or poorly literate. There are 300,000 natural villages across the country with more than 20 households, and about 46 million farmers cannot see TV. There is also a big gap in the quality of TV viewing in vast rural areas. Fourth, rural stability and harmony are facing many pressures and there are many unstable factors. The pressure for the transfer of surplus rural labor force has increased, social security such as old-age care for farmers is incomplete, and basic living security for the rural poor is not yet universal. Rural grassroots democratic politics and political power construction need to be further strengthened. In some villages, internal conflicts among the people caused by issues such as land acquisition, environmental pollution, and relations between cadres and masses are quite prominent. In some areas, the social security situation in rural areas is not good, gambling, feudal superstition and other activities are prevalent, and the activities of cult organizations are rampant. In some places, clan and sectarian power issues are prominent. Fifth, rural systems and mechanisms are imperfect and the inherent vitality for development is not strong. Institutions and mechanisms that adapt to the requirements of the socialist market economic system and modern agricultural development have not been fully formed. The agricultural socialization service system, agricultural product market system, and agricultural support and protection system are not complete. Institutions and mechanisms for coordinating urban and rural development have not been fully established. The task of deepening rural reform is still very arduous.

Some of these contradictions and problems are accumulated in the long-term historical development, and some are formed in the actual development. Moreover, they are intertwined and difficult to solve. Therefore, we say that in building a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way, the most arduous and arduous tasks lie in rural areas; to accelerate modernization, we must properly handle the relationship between workers, peasants, and urban and rural areas. All comrades in the party must deeply understand the significance of building a new socialist countryside from the strategic perspective of building a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way and creating a new situation in the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

As for the great significance of building a new socialist countryside, we have made many aspects of analysis. To sum up, the main ones are as follows.

First, coordinating urban and rural development is an inevitable requirement for implementing the Scientific Outlook on Development. Only by realizing the sustainable development of agriculture and rural economy, realizing the comprehensive development of rural economy and society, realizing the coordinated development of industry and agriculture, urban and rural areas, and gradually narrowing the gap between urban and rural areas can we achieve comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable development of the national economy and society, and truly implement the scientific concept of development.

Second, solving the problem of feeding the 1.3 billion people has always been the top priority in governing the country and ensuring national security, and has always been the basis for promoting economic development and maintaining social stability. If there is no guarantee of food, all development will be impossible. With the growth of my country's population and the improvement of people's living standards, as well as the continuous development of the economy and society, the whole society will continue to put forward higher requirements for agricultural development. To provide necessary survival materials for the 1.3 billion people, ensure national food security, provide important raw materials for the development of industry and other industries, and ensure sustainable economic and social development, we must vigorously develop agriculture and rural economy.

Third, without the well-off society of farmers, there will be no well-off society for the people of the whole country. Without the modernization of rural areas, there will be no modernization of the country. The moderate prosperity we have achieved now is still a low-level, incomplete, and very unevenly developed one, with the gap mainly in rural areas. Compared with cities, rural areas face much more arduous tasks in achieving the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way. If the agricultural foundation is unstable, farmers' income cannot be increased, and farmers' development lags behind for a long time, it will be difficult to achieve the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way, and the process of my country's modernization drive will be affected.

Fourth, vigorously developing agriculture and rural economy and doing everything possible to increase farmers' income are inevitable requirements for implementing the policy of expanding domestic demand. Increasing the proportion of rural consumption in total consumption and converting the potential huge rural consumption demand into actual purchasing power will help support my country's increasingly strong production capacity and provide lasting driving force for the development of the national economy.

Fifth, to realize that the fruits of development are shared by the people, we must realize, maintain and develop the fundamental interests of the peasant masses, who constitute the majority of our country's population. Promoting the accelerated development of agriculture and rural economy, increasing investment in rural production and public utility construction, and expanding the areas and scope of public finance covering rural areas are effective ways to benefit the broad masses of farmers from development benefits, and are also important measures to further mobilize the enthusiasm of the broad masses of farmers to join the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

Sixth, to achieve the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way and socialist modernization and achieve the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, we must vigorously improve the ideological and moral quality, scientific and cultural quality, and health quality of the entire nation to promote the all-round development of people. Strengthening the construction of rural spiritual civilization, accelerating the development of rural social undertakings, and vigorously improving the quality of hundreds of millions of farmers are of great significance to improving the quality of the entire nation.

Seventh, rural stability is the foundation of national stability, and rural stability and harmony is the foundation of national stability and harmony. Accelerating the development of agriculture and rural areas, strengthening the construction of grassroots democracy and legal system in rural areas, forming a stable, harmonious, healthy and positive situation in rural areas, ensuring that the majority of farmers live and work in peace and contentment, building a harmonious socialist society, and achieving long-term peace and stability in the country can have the broadest and deepest foundation.

Eighth, hundreds of millions of farmers are an important mass base for our party’s governance and our country’s socialist state power. To consolidate the party's ruling status and the political foundation of the workers' and peasants' alliance, we must persist in building the party for the public good and governing for the people, listen to and realize the voices of farmers, represent and safeguard the interests of farmers, closely unite the broad masses of farmers around the party and the government, and work together to achieve national prosperity and people's happiness.

Now we are accelerating the construction of a new socialist countryside and have many favorable conditions. After analysis and research, we clearly pointed out that my country has generally entered a stage of development in which industry is used to promote agriculture and cities are used to promote rural areas. This judgment is mainly based on three points: First, achieving fast and good economic and social development requires us to further improve the work of "agriculture, rural areas and farmers". The broad masses of farmers are urgently demanding to change the face of rural areas. Solving the "agriculture, rural areas and farmers" issues has increasingly become the consensus of the whole party and the country. A good atmosphere in which the whole society cares about agriculture, rural areas and farmers has been formed, creating a broad mass base and social conditions for building a new socialist countryside. Second, after years of development, especially since the reform and opening up, my country's comprehensive national strength has been significantly enhanced. The added value of the secondary and tertiary industries has accounted for 87.6% of the GDP, and the urban population has accounted for 43% of the total population. The national fiscal revenue has continued to grow, and generally has the ability for industry to feed back agriculture and cities to support the countryside, creating an important material and technical foundation for the construction of a new socialist countryside. The third is to solve the problems of agricultural and rural development and farmers' income increase. It is no longer enough to rely solely on internal resources and power in rural areas. We must continue to tap internal resources and power in rural areas while making full use of external resources and power to promote the distribution of national income in favor of agriculture and rural areas, relying on feedback from industry and support from cities.

It must be noted that although we now have many favorable conditions to strengthen the work of "agriculture, rural areas and farmers", our country is a large developing country and is in and will be in the primary stage of socialism for a long time. The basic national conditions of a large agricultural population determine that it is much more difficult for our country to solve the "agriculture, rural areas and farmers" than other countries. Building a new socialist countryside must be a long-term historical task. From the realization of the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way in the first two decades of this century to the basic realization of modernization in our country by the middle of this century, it will take decades of hard work to build a new socialist countryside. In the longer term, even if modernization is basically achieved in the future and my country's urbanization rate reaches 60% or higher, there will still be hundreds of millions of people living in rural areas. The "three rural" issues will still be a major issue related to the overall development of our country. Judging from the practice of developed countries, even if agricultural modernization is achieved, the proportion of agriculture in GDP and the proportion of agricultural labor in the total social labor force have been relatively low, and agricultural and rural issues are still major issues. Therefore, we must establish a long-term thinking and persist in doing a good job in the "agriculture, rural areas and farmers" work.

Since the founding of New China, our party has made unremitting explorations into building a new socialist countryside, and has repeatedly put forward the tasks and requirements for building a new socialist countryside at different times. Especially after entering the 1980s, with the advancement of rural reform, our party once again proposed the construction of a new socialist countryside and continuously enriched its connotation. The Fifth Plenary Session of the 16th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China further clearly proposed the construction of a new socialist countryside, which is consistent in strategic thinking with the rural reform and development goals proposed by our party since the reform and opening up. They are both aimed at promoting agricultural and rural development, improving farmers' lives, promoting national economic and social development, and maintaining social stability. At the same time, they have distinctive characteristics of the times. First of all, from the perspective of ideas, the emphasis this time on building a new socialist countryside is to implement the scientific outlook on development, coordinate urban and rural development, and promote the process of building a comprehensive well-off society in rural areas, with clearer guidelines. Secondly, from a background perspective, this emphasis on building a new socialist countryside was proposed under the new situation of my country’s increasing economic strength, sustained development of rural productivity, and increasingly improved rural management system, with a higher starting point for development. Third, from the perspective of goals, this time the emphasis is on building a new socialist countryside, and the overall requirements for production development, affluent life, civilized rural customs, clean and tidy villages, and democratic management reflect the coordinated and unified development requirements of economic construction, political construction, cultural construction, social construction and party building, and the work layout is more comprehensive. Fourth, from the perspective of methods, this time the emphasis is on building a new socialist countryside, and it is clear that the state must increase investment to realize industry feeding back agriculture and cities supporting rural areas, and mobilize the broad participation of the whole society to provide greater support. In short, this emphasis on building a new socialist countryside is the inheritance and development of the strategic thinking of our party that has long attached importance to the "agriculture, rural areas and farmers" issues, especially since the reform and opening up. It is a strategic measure to strengthen the "agriculture, rural areas and farmers" work under the new situation and better promote the process of building a well-off society in an all-round way and modernization. We must deeply understand the importance and urgency of building a new socialist countryside from the perspective of the overall work of the party and the country, enhance the consciousness and initiative of doing a good job, and effectively shoulder the historical responsibility of building a new socialist countryside. (over)

﹡This is the second part of Comrade Hu Jintao’s speech “Building a New Socialist Rural Area and Continuously Creating New Situations in the Work of “Agriculture, Rural Affairs and Rural Areas”” at a special seminar for leading cadres at the provincial and ministerial levels on building a new socialist countryside.