The current situation and challenges of Rural Revitalization in China

概要

Agricultural production in China has been conducted in a fragmented small scale for a long time. Since the reform and opening up in 1978, China’s agricultural sector has undergone a significant transformation. With agricultural policies being mainly revolved around production-oriented and focused on growth, the agricultural production increased at an average rate of 5.4% per year between 1978 to 2019. These policies have successfully guaranteed the supply of agricultural products and improved food security. However, the production-oriented agricultural policies have also led overuse of chemical fertilizers and pesticides that caused land degradation and environmental pollution, as well as food safety problems. In addition, prioritizing urban development while neglecting rural areas in the past few decades has contributed to a rapid economic growth, but this urban biased development has caused uneven regional development. The income inequities have intensified with exceeding the ratio of 3.3 to 1 in 2009, despite the fact that disposable income has grown in both urban and rural areas. Other problems in rural area emerged as the declining and aging of populations, disappearing of villages and depletion of natural resources. In order to tackle the problems mentioned above as well as to promote the sustainable development of agricultural production and its rural area, the Rural Revitalization strategy was initiated by the central government in 2018. The strategy is not limited to improving agricultural production and economy, it also put great emphasis on supporting rural development. According to the Strategic Planning for Rural Revitalization (2018–2022), a fully revitalized rural area would meet the following five goals: thriving businesses, pleasant living environments, social etiquette and civility, effective governance and affluent life. Regarding the implementation of the Rural Revitalization, provincial-level government usually introduces more detailed policies or action plans according to different local conditions, which includes approaches such as improving rural infrastructures, promoting industrial integration, tackling environmental pollution, exploring traditional culture, among other approaches. Based on a case study in Shanghai, we illustrated how Shanghai implemented the rural revitalization strategy by launching pilot projects of building a Rural Revitalization model village, addressed its challenges as well as put forward the topics that need to be taken into consideration for future research.