BEIJING: The annual central rural work conference was held from Monday to Tuesday in Beijing, mapping out priorities for the country’s rural work in 2026, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Tuesday.
Prior to the conference, a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee put forward requirements for the conference and work related to agriculture, rural areas and farmers.
Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made instructions, according to Xinhua.
Xi said that the year 2026 marks the beginning of the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-30), and it is of vital importance to do a good job in the work related to agriculture, rural areas and farmers.
It is imperative to focus on agricultural and rural modernization, solidly advance rural revitalization across the board, and promote integrated urban-rural development, Xi said.
Efforts should be made to ensure grain production and enhance the efficacy of policies that strengthen agriculture, benefit rural residents, and enrich rural areas, Xi said.
The meeting came after this year’s Central Economic Work Conference, which emphasized coordination in development to facilitate integrated urban-rural development. It also came as recommendations for the 15th Five-Year Plan called for securing “faster progress in building up China’s strength in agriculture.”
The policy signals underscore China’s sustained push toward higher-quality rural development as it prepares to enter the 15th Five-Year Plan, Chinese economists said, adding that with food security remaining the foundation, greater emphasis on technology application and farmers’ income growth is expected to enhance economic resilience amid global uncertainty.
According to Xinhua, the conference on Tuesday reviewed a draft of the opinions issued by China’s central authorities on anchoring agricultural and rural modernization and advancing all-around rural revitalization.
China usually releases its annual “No.1 central document” at the beginning of each year. As the first policy document issued by the country’s central authorities, it is seen as an indicator of policy priorities.
Cong Yi, a professor at the Tianjin School of Administration, said that work related to agriculture, rural areas and farmers has long been placed high on the central policy agenda. “The top-level policy arrangements outlined at Tuesday’s conference will lay the groundwork and set the tone for the 2026 ‘No.1 central document,’” Cong told the Global Times on Tuesday.
Stabilizing and safeguarding grain production capacity remains central to China’s agricultural modernization, in line with the priorities underscored at this year’s meeting, Cong said, adding “China has long stressed the need to safeguard the food security baseline, with steps such as protecting arable land, building high-standard farmland and supporting major grain-producing regions seen as basic, long-term tasks.
This year’s central rural work conference called for steps to stabilize grain and oil production, advance a new round of the grain production capacity enhancement initiative, and strengthen diversified food supply capacity, according to Xinhua.
Li Guoxiang, a research fellow at the Rural Development Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, further pointed to the meeting’s greater emphasis on improving high-quality development in rural works. “While ensuring the supply of key agricultural products remains a priority, future efforts will focus more on upgrading quality and efficiency to better meet consumption demand driven by rising living standards,” he added.
Tuesday’s conference also stressed the necessity to take all possible measures to ensure steady growth in farmers’ incomes and improve income support mechanisms for grain growers.
Such priorities echo China’s 2025 No.1 central document, released in February, which called for every effort to enhance agricultural efficiency, invigorate rural areas and increase farming incomes, thereby laying a solid foundation for the advancement of Chinese modernization. –The Daily Mail-Global Times news exchange item
