General Secretary Xi Jinping delivered an important speech at the symposium on promoting the rise of the central region in the new era, emphasizing that it is necessary to adhere to the integrated development of urban and rural areas and solidly promote the comprehensive revitalization of rural areas. Deepening the integrated development of urban and rural areas at the county level and gradually narrowing the gap between urban and rural areas in the process of complementarity and mutual promotion are the inevitable choices and important paths to promote the comprehensive revitalization of rural areas. The 2024 Central Document No. 1 and the Government Work Report emphasize the integrated development of urban and rural areas. The key at this stage is to combine the "invisible hand" of the market with the "visible hand" of the government, take the lead in breaking the dual structure of urban and rural areas in the county, promote the rational allocation of urban and rural public resources, accelerate the development of new quality productive forces, and further stimulate the endogenous power of the two-way flow of urban and rural elements and the resonant development of urban and rural industries.
Focus on the market-oriented flow of factors to promote the economic cycle of urban and rural areas
To promote the integrated development of urban and rural areas at the county level, we should focus on core elements such as "people, land and money", strive to break down various obstacles that hinder the market-oriented flow of urban and rural factors, focus on reducing the cost of urban and rural factor allocation at the county level, ensure the fair trade of rural production factors, and avoid the urban siphon effect.
From the perspective of "people", on the one hand, we should resolutely eliminate the discriminatory treatment of rural household registration in the job market, vigorously support the employment and entrepreneurship of rural surplus labor in other places, actively develop urban and rural labor service cooperation, and increase farmers' wage income. On the other hand, it is necessary to create conditions to effectively reduce the opportunity cost of all kinds of talents to work and live in rural areas, and promote all kinds of urban talents to participate in rural revitalization in the form of investment and shareholding, business cooperation, part-time salary, regular service, and exchange and rotation.
From the perspective of "land", on the one hand, efforts should be made to solve the problems of low land utilization rate and environmental pollution caused by the dispersion of rural land resources, appropriately guide the concentration of farmers' lives, enterprise production, and land resource utilization, and explore a new form of collective economy that promotes the efficient use of land resources on a large scale. On the other hand, it is necessary to improve the market-oriented exit mechanism and supporting policies for rural rights and interests, explore ways to realize the voluntary transfer and withdrawal of land contract management rights, homestead use rights, and collective income distribution rights for farmers who have settled in urban areas in accordance with the law, form a price mechanism for the circulation of rural rights and interests, and truly transform land and other collective assets into real benefits for farmers.
From the perspective of "money", on the one hand, vigorously promote the use of rural funds in rural areas and guide urban funds to serve rural revitalization. At the same time, we will strengthen the precise monetary policy support for financial institutions that mainly serve counties, actively develop digital inclusive finance in rural areas, and reduce rural financing costs. On the other hand, we should guide financial institutions to provide services to the south, promote the mortgage financing of rural rights and interests such as the right to use collective construction land, collective forest rights, farmers' contracted land management rights and housing property rights in accordance with the law, and explore more financial products that meet the actual needs of rural areas in the fields of agriculture-related credit and agricultural insurance, so as to ensure that rural economic organizations and individuals can also easily obtain high-quality and low-cost financial services.
Strengthen policy support and promote the balanced allocation of urban and rural public resources
To promote the integrated development of urban and rural areas at the county level, it is necessary to adhere to the urban and rural chess game, appropriately tilt the allocation of new public resources to the countryside, and speed up the completion of the shortcomings of rural infrastructure and basic public services through the integrated planning and construction of urban and rural areas at the county level, so as to better play the role of fiscal policy guidance and government funds to prevent the gap between urban and rural areas from further widening.
First, better coordinate urban and rural planning and infrastructure construction at the county level. Learn to use the experience of the "Ten Million Project", refine the design and planning of urban and rural integration at the county level, and continuously optimize the spatial layout of urban construction, farmland protection, industrial agglomeration, village distribution, ecological conservation, etc., so as to build a livable, workable and beautiful village. On the one hand, it is necessary to coordinate the planning, construction, management and protection of urban and rural infrastructure at the county level, ensure the supply of rural water supply, electricity, gas, communications and other infrastructure, deeply implement a new round of rural road construction and transformation, and gradually connect the highway network, railway network and waterway network to break through the congestion points. On the other hand, it is necessary to optimize the construction of rural underground pipe networks, vigorously rectify agricultural non-point source pollution, strengthen the protection and utilization of historical and cultural villages and agricultural cultural heritage, respect the texture of villages and promote organic renewal, and improve the "external appearance" and "internal temperament" of rural areas.
Second, we will focus on strengthening investment and support for rural medical care and education. On the one hand, we will promote the construction of a close-knit county-level medical community, optimize the layout of medical resources in townships and towns, develop "Internet +" medical care, and facilitate online referral and follow-up. At the same time, we will improve the unified basic medical insurance and serious illness insurance system in urban and rural areas, optimize the medical reimbursement policy for farmers with reference to the standards of urban residents, promote the full coverage of old-age insurance for urban and rural residents, and optimize the rural subsistence allowance system. On the other hand, we will promote the construction of urban and rural school communities, actively develop digital campuses, and promote the sharing of high-quality educational resources between urban and rural areas through group schooling, branch schools run by famous schools, entrusted management, and paired assistance.
Both initiatives should be based on the efficient use of public funds. To this end, it is necessary to implement the policy of supporting agriculture with land transfer income, standardize the use of local government special bonds and other policy tools, and support the construction of major projects for rural revitalization. At the same time, we will further improve the financial subsidy mechanism, promote large-scale equipment renewal and trade-in of durable consumer goods at the county level, increase subsidies for agricultural insurance and catastrophe insurance, optimize ecological compensation policies, and effectively use eco-environment-oriented development (EOD) and other methods to guide social capital investment in counties. In addition, it is also necessary to increase the intensity of targeted assistance, implement a special assistance system, and promptly solve the sudden, urgent and temporary living difficulties of the people in difficulty. Improve the mechanism of linking agriculture with agriculture in assistance projects, develop public welfare posts in urban and rural areas at the county level, promote the increase of income of low-income rural households, and prevent large-scale return to poverty.
Effectively develop and protect rural resources, and promote the integrated development of urban and rural industries
Industrial prosperity is the foundation and key to the comprehensive revitalization of rural areas. In the integrated development of urban and rural areas at the county level, it is necessary to develop, utilize and protect rural resources according to local conditions, undertake the industrial transfer of large and medium-sized cities in a timely manner, strengthen the application of modern technology, spare no effort to cultivate new farmers who adapt to the new agricultural business model, and guide all kinds of professionals to serve rural revitalization.
The primary significance of developing rural industries lies in developing and protecting rural resources in accordance with local conditions. Fully understand the differences in rural resource endowments, accurately grasp the relationship between rural and urban areas, and deeply explore the advantages of resource endowments such as lucid waters and lush mountains, pastoral scenery, and local culture, build local characteristic brands, differentiate the development of characteristic planting and breeding, and intensive processing of agricultural products, promote the integration of ecological agriculture and tourism, culture, health care and other industries, standardize the development of new business formats such as rural homestays and leisure camping, and continuously extend the industrial chain and value chain. At the same time, it is also necessary to continue to fight the battle to defend the blue sky, clear water and pure land, promote the governance of mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes and seas, and strengthen the protection of agricultural product trademarks and geographical indications.
To develop rural industries, it is necessary to stimulate new kinetic energy with new quality productivity. Take the initiative to learn and apply modern agricultural technology, promote good opportunities and good methods of good land, good seeds, and improve the added value of characteristic species and breeding. On the one hand, improve the backbone network of agricultural product circulation, and build a smart cold chain logistics system that connects cross-regional agricultural product wholesale markets and production and sales areas. On the other hand, strengthen the "Internet +" thinking, vigorously develop new formats and new models such as common distribution and instant retail, and standardize the development of e-commerce live broadcasting. At the same time, we will dig deep and learn from the experience of Internet celebrity villages such as "village super" and "village BA", and develop characteristic tourism. In addition, it is necessary to explore the application of big data, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things and other technologies in the development and utilization of ecological and cultural resources in the county.
Talent is the foundation for the prosperity of the industry. Implement the Rural Revitalization Talent Support Program, cultivate more local rural talents who are proficient in agricultural production, rural construction, and rural services, and guide all kinds of urban professional and technical talents to go to the countryside in an orderly manner. On the one hand, we will increase the support for college graduates and retired soldiers to return to their hometowns to start businesses, and implement support policies such as tax reductions and exemptions, venue arrangements, entrepreneurial loan guarantees and interest discounts. On the other hand, we will promote the "township sages help the township to prosper", and increase the support for the leaders of new agricultural business entities. Promote the model of science and technology academies, and encourage experts from scientific research institutes and universities to serve the integrated development of urban and rural areas.