BEIJING: The “No 1 central document “issued by the central authorities sends a strong signal about China’s firm intention to invigorate its agricultural sector and vast countryside as the country embarks on a new leg of the journey toward socialist modernization, a senior official said on Tuesday.
The document, the central authorities’ first policy statement of the year, issued annually by the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council, has long served as an indicator of government priorities.
Speaking at a news conference in Beijing on Tuesday, Tang Renjian, director of the Office of the Central Rural Work Leading Group and minister of agriculture and rural affairs, said that the key messages from the nine-section document were “securing bottom lines, bolstering vitalization and reinforcing support”.
Tang said that the key tasks for agricultural officials include safeguarding national food security and preventing farmers who had been lifted out of poverty from falling back.
To vitalize less well-off rural regions, officials are also tasked with fostering rural industry, raising farmers’ incomes and making the countryside a better place for people to live and work in.
Speaking at the news conference, hosted by the State Council Information Office, Tang said that, with the release of this year’s “No 1 central document”, this key policy statement had featured agriculture and rural affairs for 20 consecutive years.
This illustrated the central authorities’ attitude toward work related to sannong, an official term referring to agriculture, rural areas and farmers.
–The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
