Peng Wei: Anchor Agricultural and Rural Modernization to Build a Strong Agricultural Country
The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee was a highly significant meeting held during a critical period in which our country has entered a stage of consolidating the foundation and exerting full effort toward basically achieving socialist modernization. The Session reviewed and adopted the Recommendations of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Drawing Up the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development (hereinafter referred to as the Recommendations). It emphasized that "the modernization of agriculture and rural areas concerns the overall situation and the quality [1] of Chinese-path modernization. We must persist in regarding the resolution of the 'three rural issues' [2] as the top priority of the Party's work, promote integrated urban-rural development, continuously consolidate and expand the achievements of the poverty alleviation transition, promote rural areas to basically possess modern living conditions, and accelerate the building of a strong agricultural country." This fully reflects the important strategic considerations of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core in advancing the modernization of agriculture and rural areas in a coordinated manner within the overall framework of Chinese-path modernization. It delineates a vision of agricultural and rural modernization characterized by "high-quality and efficient agriculture, rural areas that are pleasant to live and work in, and prosperous and well-off farmers." We must anchor ourselves to agricultural and rural modernization and stride steadily toward the goal of building a strong agricultural country.
1. Enhancing comprehensive agricultural production capacity, quality, and efficiency to build agriculture into a modern major industry
Enhancing comprehensive agricultural production capacity, quality, and efficiency is a key task for accelerating the modernization of agriculture and rural areas. General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized, "For China to be strong, its agriculture must be strong." The Recommendations propose to "persist in simultaneously grasping yield and capacity, production and ecology, and increased output and increased income; coordinate the development of science-and-technology agriculture, green agriculture, quality agriculture, and brand agriculture; and build agriculture into a modern major industry." This aims to drive a profound transformation of agriculture from traditional production to a full-chain, high-value-added, and sustainable modern industrial system through technological drivers, ecological optimization, standard enhancement, and brand building.
"Enhancing comprehensive agricultural production capacity, quality, and efficiency" places higher demands on agricultural modernization in terms of both total volume and quality. In a narrow sense, the concept of production capacity refers to the maximum production potential that arable land can achieve. In 2025, our country's grain output remained stable at over 1.4 trillion jin [3]. To enhance comprehensive agricultural production capacity, quality, and efficiency, we must stabilize the sown area of grain, take the large-scale enhancement of per-unit yield of grain and oil crops as a key measure, exert greater effort in implementing a new round of action to increase grain production capacity by 100 billion jin, and promote simultaneous efforts in improving grain varieties and quality, thereby strengthening the capacity to ensure the supply of grain and other important agricultural products. In a broad sense, the concept of production capacity refers to the maximum production capacity achievable through the improved efficiency of traditional factors and the tapping of production capacity from new factors. To enhance comprehensive agricultural production capacity, quality, and efficiency, we must establish a Big Agriculture Perspective and a Big Food Perspective [4], persist in the simultaneous development of farming, forestry, animal husbandry, and fisheries, develop modern facility agriculture, and construct a diversified food supply system. That is, we must "improve quality" and "increase efficiency" on the basis of "guaranteed quantity." We must be grounded in resource endowments and the stage of development, follow the laws of modern industrial growth, promote regionalized agricultural layout, large-scale production, and industrialized operation, and expand the connotation and boundaries of agriculture. Building on the foundation of developing agricultural product production, we must do a thorough and dynamic job in writing the "articles" of "grain-head/food-tail," "livestock-head/meat-tail," and "farm-head/factory-tail" [5], promoting the extension of the agricultural industrial chain and the enhancement of the value chain, and comprehensively improving agricultural quality, efficiency, and competitiveness in domestic and international market competition.
During the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, to build agriculture into a modern major industry, we must, first, always place food security at the forefront of "three rural" work. We must deeply implement the strategy of "storing grain in the ground and in technology," strictly guard the red line of arable land, stringently manage the balance of occupation and compensation [6], and coordinate the optimization of agricultural land layout. Through the three major measures of constructing high-standard farmland, tackling key problems in fine seeds, and upgrading agricultural machinery, we will improve the quality of arable land, enhance the level of science and technology and the capacity for production organization and management, and increase the level of per-unit grain yield. We must properly handle the relationships between total volume and structure, capacity and yield, and grain and diversified food, ensuring national food security at a higher level. Second, we must develop new quality productive forces in agriculture according to local conditions. We should comprehensively integrate biotechnology, artificial intelligence, and advanced manufacturing technology into all links of agricultural production, empowering agricultural production in an all-round and whole-process manner to help improve agricultural resource utilization, labor productivity, and land yield rates. We should cultivate and strengthen emerging and future industries in the agricultural field, implement smart agriculture construction projects, and expand the application scenarios of big data, agricultural robots, and artificial intelligence in the agricultural and rural sectors. We should promote the utilization of agricultural waste as resources, materials, and energy, accelerating the green transformation of agriculture. Third, we must innovate agricultural production and management methods. Responding to trend-like changes in the quantity and quality structure of the agricultural labor force, the relationship between people and land, means of production technology, and relative agricultural benefits, we should promote the intensification, organization, and socialization of agricultural production and management, accelerating the comprehensive integration of smallholder farmers with modern agricultural development.
2. Advancing the construction of a beautiful countryside that is pleasant to live and work in, creating high-quality rural living spaces
Advancing the construction of a beautiful countryside that is pleasant to live and work in is an inevitable requirement for accelerating the modernization of agriculture and rural areas. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized, "For China to be beautiful, the countryside must be beautiful," and "Rural modernization is an inherent requirement and necessary condition for building a strong agricultural country; building a beautiful countryside that is pleasant to live and work in is an essential part of a strong agricultural country." The Recommendations propose to "create high-quality rural living spaces" and emphasize key tasks such as learning from and applying the experience of the "Green Rural Revival Program" [7], improving rural construction implementation mechanisms according to local conditions, and accelerating the bridging of shortcomings in modern rural living conditions.
In advancing the construction of a beautiful countryside that is pleasant to live and work in, we must aim for the hardware goal of "rural areas basically possessing modern living conditions," organizing and implementing rural construction actions so that farmers can lead a modern civilized life where they reside. Regarding "software," we must focus on shaping a rural spiritual outlook of kindness, harmony, and tranquility, coordinating the promotion of rural economic, political, cultural, social, and ecological civilization construction, as well as Party building. This will drive the comprehensive enhancement of the countryside from "shaping" (physical form) to "soul-casting" (spiritual content), ensuring both internal and external excellence. On the basis of "advancing comprehensive rural revitalization by category and in an orderly manner" in the Plan for Comprehensive Rural Revitalization (2024–2027), the Recommendations added "regionalized"—that is, "advancing rural revitalization by category, in an orderly manner, and through regionalization." Based on principles such as geographical proximity, similar endowments, connected industries, and related cultures, the countryside is divided into several regions. Taking the region as a unit, we will coordinate planning, construction, operation, and governance, advancing industrial development, environmental remediation, and organizational co-construction in a contiguous and holistic manner.
During the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, to create high-quality rural living spaces, we must, first, adhere to the people-centered development philosophy. We must respect the wishes of farmers, persist in the principle that rural construction is for the farmers, learn from and apply the experience of the "Green Rural Revival Program," and fully stimulate the enthusiasm, initiative, and creativity of farmers. From planning and design to project supervision, and from environmental remediation to industrial development, we must establish mechanisms for the wide participation of farmers and social forces. Second, we must adhere to the principle of adapting measures to local conditions. Changes in rural morphology and population in our country have brought about changes in rural space and layout adjustment. It is necessary to coordinate and optimize the layout of villages and towns based on these changes, carry out construction by category, and apply localized policies regarding construction priorities and sequencing. Third, we must take the high-quality promotion of high-quality rural living construction as the focal point. Creating high-quality rural living spaces does not mean building the countryside exactly like the city; rather, it means proceeding from the reality of each location, responding to the needs of farmers, and gradually improving the completeness of rural infrastructure, the convenience of public services, and the comfort of the living environment, so that the beautiful countryside becomes a happy home for the masses of farmers. We must continuously remediate and improve the rural living environment, addressing "crucial minor matters" [8] such as rural toilet renovation and garbage-encircled villages with the spirit of driving a nail [9]. We must accelerate the bridging of shortcomings in modern rural living conditions, achieve synergy between production, life, and ecology, and promote the transformation of the countryside from "external beauty" to "internal beauty," and from "temporary beauty" to "enduring beauty."
3. Improving the effectiveness of policies for strengthening, benefiting, and enriching farmers to promote steady income growth
Improving the effectiveness of policies for strengthening, benefiting, and enriching farmers is a powerful guarantee for accelerating the modernization of agriculture and rural areas. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized, "For China to be rich, the farmers must be rich." The Recommendations propose cultivating and expanding characteristic rural industries, improving mechanisms for linking farmers and bringing them along, and promoting steady income growth for farmers. Currently, the income growth of our country's farmers primarily relies on wage income and transfer income. We must expand the channels and methods for farmers to participate in industrial development, improve mechanisms for the fair sharing of benefits from industrial development, and guide new types of agricultural business entities to lead farmers toward prosperity.
To improve the effectiveness of policies for strengthening, benefiting, and enriching farmers, we should improve a diversified investment pattern characterized by fiscal priority in guarantees, financial focus in leaning [toward the sector], and active social participation, ensuring that investment in rural revitalization continues to strengthen. The Recommendations emphasize "protecting and mobilizing the enthusiasm of farmers for farming and growing grain." We must properly handle the relationship between ensuring food security and promoting farmers' income growth, establishing a long-term mechanism for diversified income increases. At the same time, we must increase the benefit compensation mechanism for major grain-producing areas and implement horizontal inter-provincial benefit compensation between production and marketing areas. We should steadily advance the pilot program for extending the second round of land contracts by another thirty years upon expiration and promote the resolution of the problem of land fragmentation. We should coordinately establish a normalized mechanism for preventing a return to poverty, setting up normalized management and operation mechanisms in terms of organizational leadership, social mobilization, assessment and supervision, monitoring and early warning, and identification and assistance.
During the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, to promote steady income growth for farmers, we must, first, increase policy support. In 2025, the per capita disposable income of rural residents in our country reached 24,456 yuan, a real increase of 6% over the previous year; however, challenges to continuous and steady income growth are increasing and the difficulty is rising. Therefore, we must strengthen the support and synergy of policies such as pricing, subsidies, and insurance, and increase support for farmers' income growth according to the idea of "stabilizing returns, extending the chain, increasing employment, and expanding consumption." Second, we must develop industries that enrich people at the county level and promote migrant workers' employment and income growth in their home regions and localities. We should leverage the role of "rural specialties" (tu te chan), forming a pattern of "one industry per county" and "one product per village." We should construct a modern rural industrial system with distinct characteristics, fully tap and expand the multiple functions of agriculture, and promote the coordinated linkage of the industrial, value, and supply chains. We should give full play to the important roles of professional cooperatives and their federations, leading enterprises, professional service companies, and collective economic organizations to create a community of shared interests for the entire rural industrial chain. Third, we must focus on breaking down the urban-rural dual structure and promoting integrated urban-rural development. We should advance the citizenization of the agricultural transfer population in a scientific and orderly manner and improve supporting services such as employment, housing, education, and medical care. We should promote the two-way flow of urban and rural factors and motivate all types of talent to serve in the countryside or start businesses and find employment there. We must protect the land contract rights, residential land use rights, and collective income distribution rights of farmers who have settled in cities according to the law, and explore ways to establish methods for voluntary and compensated withdrawal [10]. We should implement large-scale vocational skills training to ensure a precise match between training projects and job requirements, promoting stable employment for migrant workers.