The No. 1 Central Document focuses on addressing shortcomings in agriculture, rural areas, and farmers, ensuring the comprehensive building of a moderately prosperous society.

Release Date:

2020-02-06

On February 5, Xinhua News Agency authorized the release of the 2020 Central No. 1 Document, “Opinions on Focusing on Key Tasks in the ‘Three Rural Issues’ Sector to Ensure the Timely Achievement of a Moderately Prosperous Society in All Respects.” The document notes that 2020 is the year in which the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects will be realized and the year marking the final stage of the decisive battle against poverty. To accomplish these two major objectives, the last strongholds in the fight against poverty must be conquered, and the most pressing shortcomings in the “three rural issues” sector that hinder the realization of moderate prosperity must be addressed.

Key Takeaways:

□ We must adhere to targeted poverty alleviation and ensure that the remaining impoverished population is lifted out of poverty on schedule.

□ Implement comprehensive measures to ensure that by the end of 2020, hog production capacity has largely returned to levels close to those of a normal year.

□ Increase support for the promotion of high-yielding soybean varieties and new agronomic practices for intercropping corn and soybeans.

□ Basic universal coverage of fiber-optic networks and fourth-generation mobile communication networks has been achieved in administrative villages.

□ Accelerate the application of modern information technologies—including the Internet of Things, big data, blockchain, artificial intelligence, fifth-generation mobile communication networks, and smart meteorology—in the agricultural sector.

□ Develop rural industries that enrich the people and integrate smallholder farmers into agricultural value chains.

□ Rural collective construction land saved through village improvement, land consolidation, and other measures shall be prioritized for the development of rural industrial projects.

□ Increase fiscal investment at both the central and local levels in agriculture, rural areas, and farmers; continue to tilt central budgetary allocations toward agriculture and rural development. Local governments should allocate a designated portion of general bond expenditures to support eligible off-site poverty-alleviation relocation projects and rural revitalization initiatives.

Focusing on two major tasks:

Poverty alleviation and addressing the shortcomings in the “agriculture, rural areas, and farmers” sector.

The “Opinions” are divided into five sections. , including:

~Resolutely win the battle against poverty;

~Benchmark against the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and accelerate efforts to address shortcomings in rural infrastructure and public services;

~Ensuring an effective supply of key agricultural products and promoting sustained income growth for farmers;

~Strengthen grassroots governance in rural areas;

~Strengthen measures to address rural shortcomings and ensure adequate safeguards.

The Opinions emphasize that, in the face of a complex situation characterized by markedly heightened domestic and international risks and challenges and mounting downward pressure on the economy, it is of paramount importance to stabilize agriculture as the foundation and ensure that the “three rural issues” continue to serve as a stabilizing anchor. Policy measures must be rigorously implemented item by item to guarantee the timely completion of all assigned tasks.

Yan Yuejin, director of the Think Tank Center at the E-House Research Institute, told Interface News that this year’s No. 1 Central Document continues to focus on “agriculture, rural areas, and farmers,” clearly outlining a key strategic approach to addressing the shortcomings in these sectors as China strives to achieve moderate prosperity. This represents a crucial top-level design for the future development and revitalization of rural areas, playing an important guiding role.

At present, China’s economy is under significant downward pressure, with a complex external environment persisting and the COVID‑19 pandemic exerting additional strain. Against this backdrop, ensuring food security and boosting farmers’ incomes have become key priorities for top-level policymakers.

The Opinions emphasize that ensuring stable grain production must be the top priority, with stability in policies, acreage, and output, thereby sending a clear policy signal. To this end, the document calls for firmly assigning responsibilities at all levels and strengthening the assessment mechanism under the provincial governor responsibility system for food security; safeguarding farmers’ enthusiasm for grain production by further refining agricultural subsidy policies; boosting local governments’ commitment to grain production; and enhancing technical services.

In terms of boosting farmers’ incomes, The Opinions state that localities should be supported in leveraging their resource advantages to develop distinctive, full‑chain agricultural industries and promote the integrated development of rural primary, secondary, and tertiary sectors. Efforts should be accelerated to build various industrial parks and bases, with a focus on cultivating new types of agricultural business entities such as family farms and farmer cooperatives. Through mechanisms like contract farming, equity‑based profit sharing, and entrusted management services, smallholder farmers can be better integrated into agricultural value chains. In addition, employment for rural migrant workers must be stabilized. Wage income accounts for the largest share of farmers’ disposable income, making stable employment for this group crucial to sustaining increases in rural incomes. Key measures include strengthening vocational skills training, actively creating urban job opportunities, and stepping up support to help migrant workers retain their jobs.

In terms of land-use assurance, The Opinions propose to improve the policy framework for land use in rural industrial development by bringing all types of ancillary facilities supporting agricultural production and livestock farming under agricultural land management, reasonably setting an upper limit on the scale of such ancillary land, and clarifying that agricultural facility land may be allocated to cultivated land. Rural collectively-owned construction land may be directly utilized for developing rural industries through equity participation, leasing, and other means. Newly formulated county- and township-level territorial spatial plans shall allocate no less than 10% of their construction land indicators, while provincial authorities, when formulating annual land-use plans, shall set aside at least 5% of new construction land indicators to ensure adequate land supply for rural industries.

Yan Yuejin stated that, for rural economies to thrive, securing land availability plays a crucial role. The “Opinions” stipulate that “agricultural facility land may be allocated on cultivated land,” thereby providing stronger land‑use support for the further development of facility agriculture. Moreover, “collectively owned construction land may be directly utilized for developing rural industries through equity participation, leasing, and other mechanisms,” which will positively contribute to advancing related agri‑related sectors.

In continuing to advance rural reform and invigorate rural development, The “Opinions” also set forth a series of policy measures.

The Opinions propose to steadily advance rural land system reform. The focus is on ensuring the effective implementation of the policy allowing collectively owned construction land for business purposes to enter the market, and on promptly formulating supporting regulations for its entry into the market. Strengthening the management of rural residential land, the document calls for solid progress in confirming, registering, and issuing certificates for residential land use rights, with particular emphasis on exploring the separation of ownership, qualification, and use rights of residential land, thereby further deepening pilot programs for reforming the rural residential land system.

Yan Yuejin analyzes that, with the implementation of the new Land Management Law in 2020, related supporting policies—such as those governing collectively owned construction land for commercial and industrial purposes—will be rolled out in due course. These measures will cover issues like defining such land, establishing procedures for its entry into the market, and determining how any resulting value‑added gains are allocated. However, these ancillary policies will invariably emphasize land‑use controls; in other words, property development projects that do not align with the designated uses of this type of land will continue to face policy restrictions.

He also noted that, compared with previous statements on the withdrawal of residential land-use rights, this year’s No. 1 Central Document does not mention the concept of “withdrawal.” Instead, it explicitly calls for stringent oversight of township-level approvals for residential land, with particular emphasis on preventing risks such as uncontrolled land occupation. In practice, cities like Yancheng and Funing in Jiangsu Province have previously introduced measures to encourage the voluntary relinquishment of residential land; such withdrawals are orderly and voluntary, often linked to rural residents purchasing homes in urban areas. Yan Yuejin anticipates that, if the “separation of three rights” reform proves effective, farmers holding such residential land will become significantly more inclined to buy homes—especially in contexts where social security systems, including medical insurance, are relatively well‑developed.