China kicked off an annual rural work conference on Saturday to
map out the country's strategies and policies for agricultural and
rural development in 2008.
China's rural development will continue to be one of the areas
that top the government's agenda in the coming year, as stressed at
the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC)
concluded in October.
A recent CPC meeting urged continuing to modernize the
agricultural sector to close the gap between urban areas and
relatively underdeveloped rural regions in the coming year.
The meeting called on to boost infrastructure constructions in
rural areas, promote the steady development of agriculture,
increase the income of farmers, ensure the basic supply of farm
produce and improve the livelihood of rural population.
It asked to establish a long-term mechanism for boosting the
agriculture sector, continue to increase government investment in
agriculture, give more support to the agricultural sector and boost
grain production in 2008.
Experts believed balancing inflation curbs and steady price
hikes of farm produce for the good of farmers would be a key
challenge for the Chinese government next year.
Farm produce such as grain, meat and cooking oil, were major
factors behind this year's soaring inflation.
The Chinese government had pledged to modernize the agricultural
industry and invest more money in the country's vast rural areas at
the annual conference last year.
The Party and government had annually devoted its first work
document to rural development four times since 2004 to draw up a
variety of preferential policies to support the rural sector. The
move indicated that rural development was a top concern of the
central government.
This year's rural work conference is scheduled to last two
days.
Backgrounder: Challenges in China's rural
development
(Xinhua News Agency December 22, 2007)