Wei Ziping: The Worldview and Methodology Contained in the "Green Rural Revival Program"
The "Thousand-Village Demonstration and Ten-Thousand-Village Renovation" Project (hereafter the "Green Rural Revival Program") is a major policy decision personally researched, planned, deployed, and promoted by Comrade Xi Jinping in 2003, during his tenure as Secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee. It was rooted in the national, provincial, agricultural, and popular conditions of the time. It represents "the most popular and beneficial practical endeavor undertaken by the Party and the government for farmers since the implementation of the household contract responsibility system" [1] and serves as a provincial-level model for Chinese-path agricultural and rural modernization. On this new journey, deeply studying and comprehending the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important instructions on the "Green Rural Revival Program," profoundly grasping the worldview and methodology contained therein, and promoting its experience will be of great benefit to accelerating the construction of a beautiful countryside that is harmonious and pleasant to live and work in, and to consolidating Chinese-path modernization through agricultural and rural modernization.
I. Adhering to the people-centered development philosophy, taking the improvement of people's wellbeing, the promotion of well-rounded human development, and the achievement of common prosperity as the starting point and ultimate goal of economic and social development
Adhering to the people-centered development philosophy is the core concept of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and represents the Communist Party of China's (CPC) enrichment and development of the Marxist view of the people. Always standing with the people and struggling for their interests is the fundamental difference between a Marxist party and other political parties. Marx and Engels pointed out: "All previous movements were movements of minorities, or in the interest of minorities. The proletarian movement is the self-conscious, independent movement of the immense majority, in the interest of the immense majority." On November 6, 1941, Comrade Mao Zedong noted: "The Communist Party is a political party which works for the interests of the nation and the people, and has no private ends to serve. It should be supervised by the people and must never go against their will. Its members should stand among the people and not above them." On July 1, 2021, in his important speech at the Tiananmen Rostrum, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out, "The country is its people; the people are the country. As the Party has fought to establish and maintain its leadership over the country, it has in fact been fighting to earn and keep the people's support."
Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has insisted on taking the improvement of people's wellbeing, the promotion of well-rounded human development, and the achievement of common prosperity as the starting point and ultimate goal of economic development. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that the "Green Rural Revival Program" is a leading project for promoting new rural construction, an effective handle for coordinating urban and rural areas to revitalize the "three rural issues" [2], and a project for the people that benefits tens of millions of farmers. Zhejiang's "Green Rural Revival Program" links rural revitalization with common prosperity and integrates the mass line into every aspect and the entire process of the work. It insists that "village affairs should be discussed and handled by everyone," stimulating the farmers' sense of ownership, mobilizing them to participate extensively in village-level public affairs, and promoting a positive interaction between government governance, social participation, and villager autonomy. By mobilizing enthusiasm from all sides, it has formed a working mechanism characterized by "government leadership, farmer主体性 (subjectivity/agency), departmental cooperation, social assistance, corporate participation, and market operation." Today in Zhejiang, the countryside has become parks and villages have become scenic spots. More than 90% of the villages in the province meet the standards for Beautiful Villages in the New Era. The province has created 70 model counties for beautiful villages, 724 model townships, 743 scenic lines, 2,170 characteristic boutique villages, and over 3 million beautiful courtyards. Rural tourism and leisure agriculture in the province have received 390 million tourists, with a total operating income of 46.9 billion yuan and 334,000 employees.
II. Adhering to the priority development of agriculture and rural areas, promoting agricultural and rural modernization through a new type of industry-agriculture and urban-rural relationship
The "Recommendations of the CPC Central Committee on Formulating the 14th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development and the Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035" proposed prioritizing the development of agriculture and rural areas and comprehensively promoting rural revitalization. It emphasizes resolving the "three rural issues" as the top priority of the whole Party's work, following the path of socialist rural revitalization with Chinese characteristics, and fully implementing the rural revitalization strategy. It stresses strengthening the use of industry to support agriculture and cities to lead the countryside, promoting the formation of a new type of industry-agriculture and urban-rural relationship characterized by mutual promotion between industry and agriculture, urban-rural complementarity, coordinated development, and common prosperity, thereby accelerating agricultural and rural modernization. The report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC proposed coordinating the layout of rural infrastructure and public services to build a beautiful countryside that is harmonious and pleasant to live and work in.
The report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC pointed out that the most arduous and heavy tasks in the comprehensive construction of a modern socialist country remain in the rural areas. "We must also clearly see that behind the rapid progress of urban construction and the rapid growth of urban and rural residents' income, there are large urban-rural gaps. Social undertakings such as rural education, culture, health, and sports, as well as infrastructure construction, lag far behind cities. The gap between farmers' income levels, living standards, and quality of life compared to urban residents is still widening. How to reverse the trend of the widening urban-rural gap, break the urban-rural dual system and structure, and treat urban and rural development as a whole—scientifically planning and coordinately advancing it to form a development pattern of cities leading villages, villages promoting cities, and urban-rural interaction—this is an inevitable requirement of the Scientific Outlook on Development. It is also a concrete action for us to implement the principle of putting people first, establish a comprehensive, coordinated, and sustainable outlook on development, and promote the well-rounded development of the economy, society, and people." On August 15, 2005, Comrade Xi Jinping visited Yucun Village in Anji and first proposed the concept that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" [3]. Over the twenty years of implementing the "Green Rural Revival Program," Zhejiang Province has implemented the "four priorities" policy in detail: prioritizing the staffing of cadres for the "three rural issues," prioritizing the allocation of development factors for the "three rural issues," prioritizing the guarantee of capital investment for the "three rural issues," and prioritizing the arrangement of rural public services. These measures focus on solving the problem of unbalanced and inadequate development. In today's Zhejiang, farmhouses have become guest rooms, villagers have become shareholders, and resources have become assets. New business formats such as rural tourism, health and elderly care, and rural e-commerce are flourishing. The "Green Rural Revival Program" has brought beautiful ecology, a beautiful economy, and a beautiful life to farmers. The per capita disposable income of rural residents increased from 5,431 yuan in 2003 to 37,565 yuan in 2022, and the overall appearance of the countryside has undergone profound changes. Zhejiang has fully, accurately, and comprehensively implemented the new development philosophy, persevering for twenty years in integrating the "Two Mountains" theory into the entire process and all aspects of the "Green Rural Revival Program," achieving the mutual promotion of the "beautiful economy," villager autonomy, and the construction of a beautiful countryside that is pleasant to live and work in.
III. Adhering to a systems lens, promoting agricultural and rural modernization through the coordinated development of urban-rural integration
The systems lens is an important category of Marxist epistemology and methodology. The report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC profoundly expounded on the worldview and methodology of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, namely the "Six Must-Upholds," the fifth of which is "we must maintain a systems lens." General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "A systems lens is a foundational ideological and working method." Adhering to a systems lens was proposed by the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core during the strategic planning of various undertakings of the Party and the country in the New Era. It is the foundational ideological and working method for promoting work in various fields and socialist modernization. To achieve agricultural and rural modernization, agricultural development must be planned within the overall framework of national economic development, rural prosperity must be planned within the context of overall social progress, and the growth of farmers' income must be arranged within the overall pattern of national income distribution.
"He who does not plan for the ages is not fit to plan for the moment; he who does not plan for the whole is not fit to plan for a part." Over the past twenty years, Zhejiang's "Green Rural Revival Program" has adhered to the Five-Sphere Integrated Plan of planning, construction, management, operation, and service. It emphasizes the integrity, hierarchy, and dynamism of rural development, advancing "five types of villages" simultaneously—beautiful villages, common prosperity villages, cultural villages, well-governed villages, and digital villages. It has implemented the "five beauties linkage" across model counties, model townships, scenic lines, boutique villages, and beautiful courtyards, promoting the comprehensive revitalization of rural industries, talent, culture, ecology, and organizations. This has gradually formed a new type of industry-agriculture and urban-rural relationship. The "Green Rural Revival Program" is a pioneering demonstration of Zhejiang Province transforming the Party's innovative theories into vivid practice in the work regarding the "three rural issues."
IV. Adhering to a problem-oriented approach, conducting in-depth investigation and research, and demonstrating the power of scientific and precision policy-making
Adhering to a problem-oriented approach is a distinct feature of Marxism. "The problem is the slogan of the times." Comrade Mao Zedong pointed out in On the Ten Major Relationships: "What is a problem? A problem is a contradiction in a thing. Wherever there is an unresolved contradiction, there is a problem." General Secretary Xi Jinping noted: "Adhere to a problem-oriented approach, enhance problem awareness, dare to face problems squarely, and be good at discovering problems. Look at both the 'skyscrapers' and the 'back alleys,' truly grasp the situation, identify the problems accurately, and propose solid countermeasures." According to the special records on the "Green Rural Revival Program" in the General History of Zhejiang: Agricultural Records: "The layout of villages in some areas lacked planning guidance and constraints; farmers' housing construction lacked scientific design, resulting in 'new houses but no new village.' Phenomena such as 'dirty, chaotic, scattered, and poor' living environments were common. The construction of spiritual civilization [4] lagged behind, and old customs and bad habits were very common. Management and service functions were weak, infrastructure such as roads, water, and electricity were relatively backward, and social undertakings such as culture, sports, and medical care lagged behind, forming a sharp contrast with the farmers' needs for a better life." Problems are the voice of the times. The concept of precision is a new wisdom of the Marxist worldview and methodology blooming in the New Era, and an ideological and theoretical character tempered by Chinese Communists in coordinating the "Four Greats" [5]. The "Green Rural Revival Program" is precisely a scientific decision made based on a large amount of investigation and research and the precise mastery of first-hand materials; it has gained the warm support and strong backing of the people.
Investigation and research are the foundation and prerequisite for discovering and solving problems; they constitute a Marxist methodology. Stressing investigation and research is a fine tradition of Chinese Communists. In May 1930, Comrade Mao Zedong proposed the famous assertions "no investigation, no right to speak" and "investigation is for solving problems" in Oppose Book Worship. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has attached great importance to investigation and research. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Investigation and research are the basis for planning and the way to success. Without investigation, there is no right to speak, let alone the right to make decisions." To solve contradictions and problems, one must go deep into the grassroots and among the masses, take the masses as teachers, and conduct deep investigation and research. The decisions made by the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee to implement the "Double-Eight Strategy" and build a "Peaceful Zhejiang" were all formed on the basis of in-depth investigation and research. In 2003, shortly after arriving to work in Zhejiang, Xi Jinping spent 118 days visiting 11 cities. After in-depth investigation and research and a full understanding of the situation, with great foresight and vision, the idea for a major village renovation construction action—centered on improving the rural ecological environment and the quality of life for farmers—gradually matured. In July 2003, Xi Jinping proposed the "Double-Eight Strategy" as the general program and strategy for provincial governance in Zhejiang; the "Green Rural Revival Program" was an important handle for this.
For twenty years, Zhejiang has always maintained the strategic resolve and historical patience to persist over the long term, drawing a single blueprint to the end and working one term after another. This has provided experience for reference and injected lasting impetus into the comprehensive promotion of urban-rural integrated development and rural revitalization. On the new journey, to comprehensively and deeply study and implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the CPC and profoundly grasp the worldview and methodology contained in the "Green Rural Revival Program," we must: first, integrate the comprehensive promotion of the program's experience into the entire process of building a beautiful countryside that is harmonious and pleasant to live and work in, building a Beautiful China, and advancing Chinese-path modernization; second, organize the theoretical research, publicity, and interpretation of the program's experience with high quality to improve the ability of the vast number of Party members and leading cadres to "study, think, comprehend, and practice" in the New Era; third, organically combine the study and promotion of the program's experience with the thematic education on studying and implementing Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, transforming the learning results into specific ideas and development achievements for advancing Chinese-path modernization.