2010-10-28 15:05

BEIJING - Rural modernization should be a major task in China's next five-year development, the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee said in a proposal for mapping out a key blueprint for the country's development.

The full text of the proposals by the CPC Central Committee was released Wednesday, nine days after the conclusion of the Fifth Plenary Session of the 17th CPC Central Committee, which examined and approved the draft of China's 12th Five-Year Program (2011-15) for National Economic and Social Development.

The document said that with the deepening of industrialization and urbanization, coordinated efforts should be made to push forward rural modernization. The most important work for the CPC was to support the rural economy, rural community and rural residents.

Renewed efforts should be made to maintain coordinated development in rural and urban regions, develop agriculture with industry, encourage cities to support the countryside, provide more favorable policies and lay a solid foundation for rural development, improve the livelihoods of rural people and help farmers live contented lives.

The country should accelerate the development of modern agriculture with the primary goal of ensuring grain security, strictly protect arable land, encourage innovation in agricultural technology, fully develop the agriculture industry, establish demonstration areas for modern agriculture, promote water-saving agriculture and publicize environment-friendly production methods.

It should continue to improve rural public services and infrastructure construction, such as irrigation works and power grids, construct homes for needy people, improve the quality of rural compulsory education and health services, raise social security standards in rural regions and support poverty-stricken farmers.

New ways should be found to increase farmers' incomes, the document said. The country should encourage farmers to optimize their planting structure, help them develop non-agricultural industries in grain production areas, facilitate their employment in urban regions and increase their wages.

The rural development system would be improved in the next five years. The law on land contracts in rural areas would remain unchanged. Land revenues and farmers' deposits would be used to support rural development. Counties with mature conditions would be allowed to set up their own community banks and offer small loans to farmers. The government would continue the forest tenure reform.

The draft of the 12th Five-Year Program (2011-15) for National Economic and Social Development is subject to approval by the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, when it convenes its annual session next year.