Ding Renzhong and Gao Yumeng: Research on Xi Jinping's Important Expositions on Integrated Urban-Rural Development
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has persisted in making the resolution of the "three rural issues" (agriculture, rural areas, and farmers) the top priority of the Party's overall work. Viewing the countryside as an organic whole holding equal status with the city, the leadership has attached great importance to Chinese-path modernization. Xi Jinping has expounded on urban-rural integrated development on many occasions, providing profound answers to major theoretical and practical questions such as why, what kind of, and how we should achieve such integration. These expositions serve as the fundamental follow-up for correctly handling urban-rural relations in the New Era. Deeply studying Xi Jinping's important discourses on urban-rural integrated development helps deepen our understanding of this process, allows us to guide practice with the Party's innovative theories, and solidly advances the process of urban-rural integrated development in our country.
I. The Theoretical Logic of Xi Jinping’s Important Discourses on Urban-Rural Integrated Development
The theoretical logic of Xi Jinping’s important discourses on urban-rural integrated development can be understood through four dimensions: its theoretical basis, cultural basis, experiential basis, and practical basis.
(1) Theoretical Basis: Marxist Theory of Urban-Rural Development
First, Xi Jinping emphasizes the material basis of urban-rural integrated development. Based on the laws governing the contradictory movement between the productive forces and the relations of production, Marx and Engels pointed out that the relationship between city and country progresses through stages from "undifferentiated" to "opposition" and finally to "integration." The development of productive forces in capitalist society broke the state of urban-rural unity: "The antagonism between town and country begins with the transition from barbarism to civilization, from tribe to State, from locality to nation, and runs through the whole history of civilization to the present day." With the development of the social division of labor and the increase in specialization, cities and villages manifested different modes of production and lifestyles, but their antagonistic relationship would be terminated by the development of productive forces at a higher stage. This development drives urban-rural progress into an integrated stage that "combines the advantages of both town and country life while avoiding the one-sidedness and drawbacks of each." Under new historical conditions, Xi Jinping has inherited and developed the Marxist-Leninist theory of urban-rural integration. He explicitly pointed out that "promoting the integration of urban and rural development is an inevitable requirement once industrialization, urbanization, and agricultural modernization reach a certain stage," because "no matter how far industrialization and urbanization progress, agriculture must develop, the countryside will not vanish, and the city and country will coexist for a long time." Furthermore, "without rural development, urbanization will lack its foundation." As China’s economic strength and comprehensive national power have significantly increased, we now possess the material and technical conditions to support urban-rural integration; we have "reached the developmental stage where industry counter-feeds agriculture and the city supports the countryside." Adapting to these new characteristics and requirements to accelerate integrated development is an inevitable choice for China to correctly handle urban-rural relations and ensure the masses share in the fruits of reform and development.
Second, Xi Jinping emphasizes giving full play to the strengths of the socialist system. Marx analyzed the causes of urban-rural antagonism, believing that with the emergence of capitalist private ownership and the development of capitalist productive forces, "all relations resulting from the old mode of production in the countryside would dissolve." Engels believed that "capitalist society cannot abolish this antagonism; on the contrary, it must daily intensify it." Marx and Engels pointed out that the primary condition for establishing a community is the abolition of the opposition between town and country. Urban-rural integrated development takes the demise of capitalism as its systemic prerequisite. Grounding his approach in the development of China’s socialist market economy, Xi Jinping emphasizes the strengths of the socialist system when discussing the practical path for integration. He stresses both strategic top-level design and the coordination of various policies. From the dual-wheel drive of coordinating new-type urbanization and comprehensive rural revitalization to the three-way synergy of new-type industrialization, new-type urbanization, and comprehensive rural revitalization to improve integration mechanisms, these efforts reflect the Party Central Committee’s deepening understanding of the laws of urban-rural development. As Xi Jinping noted, "In the process of modernization, how we handle the relationship between industry and agriculture, and between city and country, determines to a certain extent the success or failure of modernization." The systematic integration of these three forces aims to smooth the circulation between industry and agriculture and between city and country, promoting functional complementarity and forming a new type of urban-rural relationship—a vivid practice of combining urban-rural and industrial-agricultural relations.
(2) Cultural Basis: Fine Traditional Chinese Culture
Xi Jinping’s important discourses on urban-rural integrated development represent a flexible application of the rich connotations of fine traditional Chinese culture. Traditional values concerning nature conservation, equity, and enriching the people constitute key ideological components of these discourses.
First, Xi Jinping’s discourses reflect the civilizational concept of protecting nature found in fine traditional Chinese culture. Primarily, he emphasizes the symbiotic relationship between humans and nature. The "unity of heaven and humanity" [1]—concepts like "flowing together with heaven and earth" and "regulating the mandate of heaven and utilizing it"—originated in traditional agrarian civilization, emphasizing the oneness of humans and nature and urging people to act in accordance with natural laws. Xi Jinping requires that the ecological environment be given a more prominent position: "City work must take the creation of a superior human settlement environment as its central goal," and we must "let the city merge into nature... so that residents can see the mountains, see the water, and remember their 'homesickness' (nostalgia for their roots)." Furthermore, he emphasizes the sustainability of socio-economic development. He proposed: "We must follow the way of nature to nourish all living things, find development opportunities from protecting nature, and achieve a win-win for ecological protection and high-quality economic development." This inherits and develops the ideas of "taking according to the Tao and using according to the season" and "when plants and trees are flourishing, axes and saws shall not enter the forests, so as not to end their lives prematurely or cut off their growth." Xi Jinping pointed out that achieving comprehensive rural revitalization requires both "developing ecological low-carbon agriculture" and "strengthening rural environmental remediation" to build a "beautiful countryside" that balances green production with green living.
Second, the discourses reflect the value orientation of common prosperity in fine traditional Chinese culture. Practical ideas of "equality" and "common" distribution have existed for millennia, as seen in the Analects [2] ("not worried about scarcity but about inequality, not worried about poverty but about instability") and the Lüshi Chunqiu [3] ("to govern the world, one must prioritize the public; where there is public spirit, the world is at peace"). Xi Jinping emphasizes the need to focus on common prosperity in rural areas: "the most arduous and heavy tasks in promoting common prosperity remain in the countryside." The essence of urban-rural integration is to let farmers share the fruits of reform: "We must hold the political direction of the rural revitalization strategy, adhere to the nature of collective ownership of rural land, develop the new-type collective economy, and take the road of common prosperity." The concept of a "moderately prosperous society" [4] from the Classic of Poetry and Guanzi’s [5] idea that "the way to govern a country must begin with enriching the people" are inherently consistent with socialist common prosperity. Xi Jinping noted that we must "mobilize the initiative and creativity of farmers, turning their aspiration for a better life into the momentum for rural revitalization," and "accelerate the construction of long-term policy mechanisms to promote steady income growth for farmers."
(3) Experiential Basis: The CPC’s Practical Exploration in Handling Urban-Rural Relations
These discourses are a scientific summary and innovative development of the CPC’s experience in handling urban-rural relations.
First, these discourses are the fundamental follow-up for correctly understanding urban-rural relations in the New Era. Primarily, they represent a systematic reconstruction of past imbalances. Xi Jinping pointed out: "The greatest imbalance in China's development is the imbalance between urban and rural development, and the greatest inadequacy is the inadequacy of rural development." This imbalance resulted from China’s unique historical urban-rural dual system, which began during the planned economy period and became more prominent during rapid urbanization. During the planned economy, rural areas implemented the People’s Commune system of "three-level ownership with the production team as the basis" [6] to provide factors of production and accumulate economic surplus for industrialization. The 1958 Hukou (household registration) regulations restricted rural-to-urban migration, rigidifying the dual structure. Since the reform and opening up, the dual land and Hukou systems further deepened these imbalances: land value gains from converting agricultural to non-agricultural land often went to city governments, leading to "prosperous cities and desolate villages." Furthermore, urban and rural residents faced inequality in employment and healthcare linked to Hukou status, notably the "migrant worker" problem [7]. Xi Jinping emphasized that "building a moderately prosperous society in all respects is inseparable from the hard work of migrant workers; we must care for them more." To address this, he explicitly proposed using "reform as the driving force to continuously break the urban-rural dual structure." Secondly, the discourses deepen the understanding of urban-rural relations. In the early stages of industrialization, it was necessary for agriculture to "nurse" industry. Now, in the new stage, industry must "counter-feed" agriculture. The core of promoting integration is breaking the "city-oriented" development mentality. As Xi Jinping noted, "We did not mention 'city-ization' (chéngshìhuà) at the beginning, but rather 'town-ization' (chéngzhènhuà), with the goal of promoting urban-rural integration." In the New Era, we must smooth the two-way flow of factors, give full play to the autonomy of the rural population, and reshape the urban-rural relationship.
Second, Xi Jinping’s important expositions on integrated urban-rural development serve as an action guide for correctly handling urban-rural relations in the New Era. These expositions emphasize the supporting role of new-type industrialization in integrated urban-rural development. Xi Jinping has pointed out the need to coordinate new-type industrialization, new-type urbanization, and rural revitalization across the board [8]: “In revitalizing the countryside, we cannot discuss the countryside in isolation; we must strengthen the practice of industry supporting agriculture and cities leading the countryside.” New-type industrialization is the key to advancing integrated urban-rural development. On one hand, it assists in the construction of new-type urbanization by inducing a transformation in the modes of production. New-type industrialization shifts production activities in towns and townships from being primarily agricultural to primarily industrial, facilitating the rational agglomeration of industry and population. This, in turn, promotes new-type urbanization with county seats as important carriers. On the other hand, new-type industrialization provides the dynamic support for rural revitalization across the board and the modernization of agriculture and rural areas. Xi Jinping noted the necessity to “accelerate the transformation of agricultural development modes, quicken the pace of agricultural technological innovation, and strike a path of intensive, efficient, safe, and sustainable modern agricultural development.” New-type industrialization is the focal point for accelerating the pace of agricultural modernization; it is essential to support agricultural development through a new-type industrial system characterized by intelligence, "greenification," and high-end positioning. By providing modern facilities, advancing the breeding of superior strains, extending the industrial and value chains of agricultural products, and integrating supply chains, new-type industrialization can improve the level of intensification and intelligence in agricultural production, promoting the high-quality development of rural industries. Simultaneously, Xi Jinping’s important expositions emphasize the coordination between ecological environmental protection and economic and social development. On the one hand, he highlights the relationship between urban production/life and ecological protection, stating: “Urban development cannot merely consider economies of scale; we must place ecology and security in a more prominent position.” The modernization of cities is a modernization of harmony between humanity and nature. It requires coordinating spatial layouts and planning developmental paths, adhering to the principle of "cities of the people, for the people," and building livable cities where humanity and nature coexist and prosper together, thereby improving both the quality of economic development and the quality of life for urban residents. On the other hand, Xi Jinping attaches great importance to the relationship between rural production/life and ecological protection, noting: “The rural environment directly affects the 'rice bag' (grain supply), the 'vegetable basket' (non-staple food supply), the 'water jar' (water security), and the 'back garden' of our towns.” Building a more beautiful and livable socialist new countryside must be based on local conditions and seeking truth from facts: “We must solidly implement the three-year action plan for improving rural living environments, advance the rural ‘toilet revolution,’ and improve rural living facilities.”
(4) The Practical Foundation: Modernization Construction of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics in the New Era Entering the New Era, and focusing on the changes in the principal contradiction in Chinese society [9] and the current stage of development, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has made strategic deployments for new-type industrialization, new-type urbanization, and rural revitalization across the board. Based on a profound insight into the laws and trends of urban-rural relations, they have coordinated the relationship between an effective market and a promising government [10], striving to construct a new type of relationship between industry and agriculture and between urban and rural areas—one characterized by mutual promotion between industry and agriculture, urban-rural complementarity, coordinated development, and common prosperity—to accelerate the realization of agricultural and rural modernization.
First, the functional positioning of complementary urban-rural resource elements is a key component of Xi Jinping’s exposition on integrated urban-rural development. To begin with, this positioning reflects the historical transformation of the relationship between industry and agriculture and between urban and rural areas in China. In December 2020, at the Central Rural Work Conference, Xi Jinping emphasized: “The next fifteen years will be a window of opportunity to break down the urban-rural dual structure and improve the systems and mechanisms for integrated urban-rural development.” Promoting integrated development requires a scientific assessment of major structural and trend-based changes in future urban-rural relations. Since the founding of New China, our country has accumulated precious experience in correctly handling these relations. Since the start of the New Era, the CPC Central Committee has attached great importance to integrated development, leading the people to win the comprehensive battle against poverty and implementing the strategy of rural revitalization across the board. This has led to historical achievements in the development of industry-agriculture and urban-rural relations, creating new social conditions for achieving integrated development. In 2024, China’s agricultural production reached a new level, farmers' incomes grew steadily, rural society remained harmonious and stable, and "Sannong" (agriculture, rural areas, and farmers) work made steady progress. The supporting and safeguarding role of the countryside for the cities has become even more prominent. Furthermore, this functional positioning serves as the starting point for leveraging the initiative of farmers and narrowing the urban-rural gap. The objective law of a rising urban population and a declining rural population, combined with China's national condition of a massive population, determines that cities and the countryside will coexist for a long time. Xi Jinping proposed that the "focus for resolving the problem of unbalanced urban-rural development is to form a new type of relationship—characterized by industry promoting agriculture, cities leading the countryside, mutual benefit between industry and agriculture, and urban-rural integration—through the establishment of systems and mechanisms for urban-rural integration." As two sides of an organic whole, towns and villages have their own unique characteristics and complementarities. Towns have advantages in population agglomeration, industrial collaboration, and levels of new-type industrialization, while the countryside excels in agricultural supply and ecological development. We must vigorously develop county-level economies, “unifying the strengthening of counties with the enrichment of the people, and combining reform with development,” strengthening the connection of industrial chains between urban and rural areas, promoting professional division of labor and collaboration, and further optimizing the layout of urban-rural productive forces.
Second, coordinating the relationship between an effective market and a promising government is the entry point for Xi Jinping's elaboration on integrated urban-rural development. Integrated development is a top-level design for solving the urban-rural gap and promoting rural development. To promote this, we must both give full play to the decisive role of the market in resource allocation and better play the role of the government. Simply relying on the market is insufficient to build a prosperous countryside. Integrated development involves diverse subjects, requiring all regions and departments to “strengthen top-level design, systematic planning, and innovation in systems and mechanisms,” and to comprehensively improve the levels of urban-rural planning, construction, and governance. This involves “leveraging the positive role of the government in planning guidance, policy support, market supervision, and legal guarantees.” Conversely, if only the role of the government is emphasized, the endogenous vitality of urban-rural development cannot be effectively stimulated. Xi Jinping has pointed out: “The key to rural revitalization lies in people and in action.” Only by giving full play to the principal role of the hundreds of millions of people, taking market demand as the guide, liberalizing and vitalizing the rural economy, and cultivating new drivers for rural development can we achieve common prosperity between urban and rural areas.
II. The Contemporary Value of Xi Jinping’s Important Expositions on Integrated Urban-Rural Development Xi Jinping’s important expositions on integrated urban-rural development are based on the changes in the principal contradiction in our society and the prospects for Chinese-path modernization. They emphasize that promoting integrated development and building a new type of urban-rural relationship are strategic measures that align with national development strategies and respond to the needs of the people. Specifically, the contemporary value of promoting integrated urban-rural development lies in its benefit to advancing Chinese-path modernization, achieving high-quality development, and satisfying the people’s aspirations for a better life.
(1) Integrated Urban-Rural Development is an Inevitable Requirement for Building a Strong Agricultural Country and Advancing Chinese-Path Modernization Chinese-path modernization is the modernization of a massive population; this distinct feature determines that integrated development is an inevitable requirement for building a strong agricultural country and advancing Chinese-path modernization. Xi Jinping has pointed out: “If the agricultural foundation is solid, the countryside is harmonious and stable, and the farmers live and work in peace, the overall situation is guaranteed, and all tasks can be handled with greater initiative.” Building a great modern socialist country must place the acceleration of building a strong agricultural country in a position of primary importance. Only by advancing agricultural and rural modernization can Chinese-path modernization have a solid foundation. “Viewing from the perspective of the world's once-in-a-century profound changes, stabilizing the agricultural 'basic plate' and guarding the foundation of 'Sannong' is the 'ballast stone' for responding to such changes and opening new horizons.” Currently, insufficient rural development in China is primarily manifested in the fragility of the agricultural and rural foundation. Xi Jinping emphasized: “Without agricultural modernization, without rural prosperity and strength, and without farmers living in peace and contentment, national modernization is incomplete, lopsided, and unstable.” Integrated urban-rural development is a strategic arrangement endogenous to the context of the transformation of urban-rural and industry-agriculture relations. As Xi Jinping noted, “In building a strong agricultural country, the sharp weapon is technology, and the key is reform.” Specifically, integrated development primarily fosters development momentum and increases vitality for building a strong agricultural country and advancing Chinese-path modernization through technological leadership and institutional innovation, aiding rural revitalization across the board.
First, integrated urban-rural development fosters development momentum for building a strong agricultural country and advancing Chinese-path modernization through technological leadership. Xi Jinping noted: “Now more than ever, we need to attach importance to and rely on agricultural scientific and technological innovation.” To promote integrated development, we must coordinate the advancement of new-type industrialization, new-type urbanization, and rural revitalization across the board, leveraging the urban functions of aggregating population, industry, capital, and technology to radiate and drive agricultural technological innovation in the countryside. On one hand, new-type industrialization provides technological support for agricultural mechanical automation. As the main battlefield for technical innovation, new-type industrialization should focus on six major areas—seeds, farmland, biosafety, agricultural machinery, green/low-carbon development, and rural development—developing smart breeding and green, intelligent production to increase the stability and output of agriculture. It should strengthen R&D and application across the entire agricultural industrial chain, improve the cold-chain logistics system for agricultural products, and consolidate the technological foundation for building a strong agricultural country. On the other hand, new-type urbanization provides the source of momentum for agricultural technological innovation. New-type urbanization, with the county seat as an important carrier, helps leverage the county seat’s function as a bridge "connecting cities and driving the countryside" and its central function in cultivating "strong agricultural counties, major industrial counties, and famous tourism counties." Using the county level as a platform to attract the concentration of urban and rural populations can directly deepen urban-rural connections, thereby allowing for the knowledge spillover effect from cities to the countryside and prompting the countryside to accept urban technology diffusion. It can also indirectly stimulate the vitality of scientific and technological innovation, improving the efficiency of transforming innovation results during two-way urban-rural interactions, thereby fostering development momentum for building a strong agricultural country and Chinese-path modernization.
Second, integrated urban-rural development increases development vitality for building a strong agricultural country and advancing Chinese-path modernization through institutional innovation. Xi Jinping pointed out: “No matter how far urbanization develops, the rural population will still be quite large; even if the urbanization rate reaches 70%, hundreds of millions of people will still live in the countryside.” Therefore, more importance must be attached to rural development, adhering to reform as the driving force—integrating expansion of scope, increase in speed, and integration of systems—to improve the mechanisms for integrated urban-rural development, revitalize rural resource elements, and strive to construct a new pattern of integrated development. Xi Jinping particularly emphasized the importance of Party committees taking the lead in rural revitalization work. He stated: “Party committees and governments at all levels must adhere to the priority development of agriculture and rural areas and solidify the political responsibility of 'five levels of secretaries' [11] in grasping rural revitalization.” We must improve the basic rural management system, refine the grain price formation mechanism, and enhance the support systems for strengthening, benefiting, and enriching farmers, granting farmers more comprehensive property rights and interests, and perfecting long-term mechanisms for promoting rural revitalization across the board. By deepening the reform of the land system and orderly advancing the entry of rural collective經營性 (for-profit/commercial) construction land into the market, we can improve the mechanism for distributing gains from land value increases, resolve the inequality in the distribution of land value-added returns between urban and rural areas, change the situation where rural resources flow out in a one-way direction, and stimulate the vitality of agriculture, the countryside, and farmers. Simultaneously, Xi Jinping pays special attention to the principle of upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground in institutional construction. Adjusting the superstructure to suit the economic base requires innovation according to the needs of the New Era, as well as adherence to "bottom-line thinking" [12]. Xi Jinping pointed out: “No matter how rural reform is conducted, we cannot collapse the collective ownership of rural land, reduce the amount of arable land, weaken grain production capacity, or harm the interests of farmers.” The essence of reforming the mechanisms for integrated urban-rural development is to realize, safeguard, and develop the fundamental interests of the vast majority of farmers.
(2) Integrated Urban-Rural Development is a Powerful Driving Force for Building a New Development Pattern and Achieving High-Quality Development
The complex and severe internal and external situations facing China’s modernization determine that the integrated development of urban and rural areas functions as a powerful driver for constructing the New Development Paradigm and achieving high-quality development. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, China’s economic development has entered a New Normal [13]. Facing a situation characterized by increasing external pressure and mounting internal difficulties, Xi Jinping emphasized: "Constructing a New Development Paradigm is our strategic measure to respond to the great changes in the world, and it is also our first move (xiānshǒuqí) [14] to adapt to the changes in our domestic development stage and grasp the initiative of development." Currently, the trend of global anti-globalization is intensifying, and phenomena such as passive disruption and active "decoupling" of global supply chains occur frequently. We must accelerate the construction of a New Development Paradigm with the domestic macro-circulation as the mainstay and domestic and international dual circulation promoting each other. We must place our strategic base on expanding domestic demand: "In expanding the space for modernization, the agriculture and rural areas are a vast world (guǎngkuò tiāndì) where much can be achieved," and "we must give full play to the important role of the countryside as a consumer market and a factor market," accelerating the formation of a unified national urban-rural market to expand the development space of the domestic macro-circulation. Xi Jinping pointed out: "The urban-rural economic circulation is an inherent part of the domestic macro-circulation and a key factor in ensuring a healthy proportional relationship between domestic and international dual circulation." Integrated urban-rural development creates vast room for the New Development Paradigm and high-quality development primarily from the aspects of supply and demand.
First, integrated urban-rural development releases immense supply potential. Xi Jinping pointed out: "Smoothing the circulation between industry and agriculture, and between urban and rural areas, is an important aspect of smoothing the domestic economic macro-circulation and enhancing the resilience and strategic depth of our economy." Integrated urban-rural development provides security for China's economic development and safety primarily through factor supply and spatial expansion, thereby strengthening economic resilience. First, integrated development means an abundant supply of agricultural products. As Xi Jinping noted, "Achieving high-quality development cannot be separated from agricultural development." Food security is the "top priority of the nation" (guó zhī dà zhě) [15] for maintaining overall economic stability. Integrated development takes new-type industrialization as its prerequisite. Vigorously promoting new-type industrialization can utilize digital and intelligent means to monitor the entire process of seed selection, sowing, nursing, management, and harvesting. This improves agricultural production efficiency, optimizes the agricultural product supply system, accelerates the development of integrated crop-livestock circular agriculture, and promotes the coordinated development of a ternary planting structure (grain, cash crops, and forage), providing higher-quality agricultural products for urban and rural production and life. Second, integrated development means a massive supply of population. Xi Jinping pointed out: "The movement of several hundred million farmers as a whole into modernization will release enormous creative momentum and consumption potential, injecting powerful impetus into economic and social development." Promoting new-type urbanization with the county seat as an important carrier absorbs the agricultural population. Allowing the population migrating from agriculture to enter, stay, integrate, find employment, and start businesses in towns helps increase labor supply, improve labor quality, and reduce labor costs. This cultivates a modern industrial workforce for the construction of a modern industrial system, drives investment in municipal utilities and public services, stabilizes the real estate market, and provides a source of power for sustainable urban development. Third, integrated development means the supply of vast space. Facing the stage-specific characteristics of unbalanced urban-rural development, Xi Jinping emphasized: "If we only care for one end and neglect the other—with increasingly modernized cities on one side and increasingly desolate villages on the other—then we cannot say we have achieved the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation." The utilization rate of rural space in China is low, and development remains insufficient; this contains considerable development space and potential. Promoting the comprehensive revitalization of the countryside is the greatest "room for maneuver" (huíxuán yúdì) for China's economic development. Constructing a new pattern of integrated urban-rural development requires transforming the countryside from a mere unit for factor supply into a value-bearing space with diverse functions such as agricultural production, ecological barriers, and agrarian culture. This creates a rural production and living environment suitable for living and working, broadening the space for economic development.
Second, integrated urban-rural development releases immense demand potential. Xi Jinping pointed out: "Where are the new growth points? They are right beside us, in the new-type industrialization, informatization, urbanization, and agricultural modernization proposed at the 18th National Congress." He added, "If these potential demands can be stimulated to drive supply, they will become new growth points and form a powerful force for development." Integrated development can narrow the urban-rural income gap, adjust the supply structure, and expand domestic consumption demand. First, integrated development can drive residents' consumption demand. Xi Jinping pointed out: "For China to be rich, the farmers must be rich." China's new-type urbanization uses the county level as an important carrier. Expanding the county economy helps facilitate urban-rural economic links, increase residents' income, and narrow the income gap. By developing characteristic county industries, seeking comparative advantages, and accelerating the development of the agricultural production service industry, we can promote the integration of primary, secondary, and tertiary industries in rural areas. This includes supporting the deep processing of agricultural products, promoting brand building, and increasing added value. Implementing "Internet + Modern Agriculture," vigorously developing agricultural e-commerce, and accelerating the construction of cold-chain logistics systems for agricultural products will speed up the realization of value. New-type urbanization at the county level, under the synergistic effect of new-type industrialization and comprehensive rural revitalization, increases urban and rural employment jobs and income, directly driving consumption. Second, integrated development can satisfy the demand of rural residents for equalized public services. Currently, while the total supply of rural infrastructure in China is not small, the contradictions of imbalance and insufficiency remain prominent. Xi Jinping emphasized the need to "bridge the short board (bǔqí duǎnbǎn) [16] of rural infrastructure" and "gradually establish an infrastructure service network with full coverage, inclusive sharing, and urban-rural integration." The purpose of integrated development is to promote the equalization of the basic rights and interests of urban and rural residents. Integrated development pushes urban infrastructure and public services toward the countryside, providing equalized public services while respecting the differences in urban and rural production and lifestyles.
(3) Integrated urban-rural development is a key link in achieving common prosperity and meeting the people's needs for a better life.
The fundamental national condition that China is still in and will long remain in the primary stage of socialism [17] determines that integrated urban-rural development is the key link for achieving common prosperity and meeting the people’s needs for a better life. Xi Jinping pointed out: "We must see both that the basic national condition of the primary stage of socialism has not changed, and that new characteristics have emerged in each stage of China's economic and social development." On one hand, while the primary stage remains, the level of productive forces has greatly improved, and the principal contradiction of society has shifted. The 19th CPC National Congress proposed that the principal contradiction facing Chinese society has evolved into that between unbalanced and inadequate development and the people’s ever-growing needs for a better life. On the other hand, since the 18th National Congress, the historic achievements of the Party and state have created new conditions for the productive forces to support integrated development. While urban-rural development remains unbalanced and rural development is insufficient, China’s economy has transitioned from a stage of high-speed growth to a stage of high-quality development. This places new requirements on integrated development and the promotion of common prosperity for all. Xi Jinping noted: "The problem of unbalanced and inadequate development in China is still prominent... promoting common prosperity for all is a long-term task. However... we must place the promotion of common prosperity for all in a more important position, stay grounded, and persist over the long term." Allowing the masses to share the fruits of reform and development is the ultimate goal of Xi Jinping's important expositions on integrated urban-rural development. He noted: "Achieving coordinated urban-rural and regional development is not only a requirement for the balanced layout of territorial space but also a requirement for following the path of common prosperity." Promoting integrated development means using the structural change in urban-rural relations to drive the transition of China's economic developmental momentum. Through industrial development and ecological protection, it aims to stimulate the endogenous drive for rural development, continuously consolidate and expand the results of poverty alleviation, and satisfy the people’s aspirations for a better life.
First, integrated urban-rural development facilitates industrial integration and realizes "strengthening agriculture through industry." Xi Jinping has repeatedly emphasized the need to "seek benefits from the integration of primary, secondary, and tertiary industries; strengthen lead enterprises, supplement the industrial chain, foster new business forms, and establish brands; promote the upgrading of the entire rural industrial chain, and enhance market competitiveness and sustainability." Industrial prosperity is the foundation and guarantee of comprehensive rural revitalization. Integrated development achieves this by both making the "cake" larger and dividing it better. On one hand, it promotes industrial integration by leveraging the comparative advantages of townships and strengthening the division of labor. Market demand is the "navigation light," and resource endowment is the "locator." Townships must base themselves on local resources, develop characteristic industries according to local conditions, and integrate into the industrial circles of higher-tier cities. Led by "chain-master" (liànzhǔ) [18] enterprises, they should help local characteristic industries develop into advantageous industries, expanding the value-added space of agriculture. On the other hand, integrated development promotes integration by improving the mechanism for linking interests and rationally distributing value-added income. Xi Jinping emphasized: "Rural industrial integration is not a simple 'one-plus-two-plus-three'; the key is to improve the interest-linking mechanism. We cannot let the boss get rich while the fellow villagers (lǎoxiāng) are left behind."
Second, integrated urban-rural development facilitates ecological protection and realizes "enriching the people through ecology." Xi Jinping pointed out: "Agriculture is an ecological industry, and the countryside is an important link in the ecosystem." On one hand, integrated development achieves this through the "industrialization of ecology" (shēngtài chǎnyèhuà). Xi Jinping emphasized: "We must hold the red line of ecological protection... let a good ecology become the support point for rural revitalization." Protecting natural wealth is protecting social wealth. Guided by integrated development, we should promote the integration of urban-rural infrastructure, encourage citizens to visit the countryside, and cultivate "Ecology+" models. This involves tapping into natural landscapes, revitalizing ecological resources, and integrating "agriculture, culture, and tourism" (nóng-wén-lǚ) to create a virtuous cycle where natural resources are smoothly converted into economic benefits. On the other hand, integrated development must maintain a good ecological environment. Xi Jinping noted: "A good living environment is the earnest expectation of the farmers; the 'dirty, chaotic, and substandard' (zàng-luàn-chà) appearance of some villages must be changed more quickly." Providing a clean environment is an inherent requirement of common prosperity.
III. The Practical Orientation of Xi Jinping’s Important Expositions on Integrated Urban-Rural Development
Based on the current status of China's urban-rural development, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has clarified the overall thinking for promoting integrated development from the strategic perspective of modernization: "Plan industry and agriculture, cities and villages as a whole, and promote the mutual integration and common development of urban and rural areas in terms of planning layout, factor allocation, industrial development, public services, and ecological protection."
(I) Promoting integrated urban-rural development guided by planning and layout
Urban-rural planning is the top-level design for coordinating spatial layout, improving the living environment, and promoting sustainable development. Xi Jinping pointed out: "We must break the planning pattern that separates urban and rural areas and establish a planning management and implementation system that integrates urban and rural areas and views the county as a single chessboard (yīpánqí)." Planning is the "lead" (lóngtóu) [19] of construction; only with a sense of integrated planning in the top-level design can the problem of unbalanced development be solved in grassroots practice.
First, the planning layout emphasizes integrated design and "multiple plans in one" (duōguī héyī). Xi Jinping pointed out: "We must improve the planning system and consider the formulation of urban and rural development plans as a whole." All regions and departments must strengthen forward-looking thinking and global planning to ensure that the "Three Zones and Three Lines" (sānqū sānxiàn) [20] are accurately implemented at the city and county levels, effectively solving the problem of prioritizing cities over villages in planning.
Second, the planning and layout must emphasize urban-rural differentiation, coordinated planning, and optimization. On one hand, urban planning and construction should focus on revitalizing existing stock. Xi Jinping has pointed out: "Urban planning must gradually shift from expansionary planning to planning that defines city boundaries and optimizes spatial structures." In a context of limited incremental growth, existing stock must be actively revitalized to create new-type cities that are livable, resilient, and green. On the other hand, the spatial layout of villages should focus on optimizing incremental growth. Xi Jinping emphasizes that whether a village is preserved or downsized, "the key is to ensure that planning comes first." When compiling village plans, functions such as land use, industrial development, residential layout, living environments, ecological protection, and the inheritance of historical culture must be comprehensively considered to fully tap into economic growth points and increase the vitality of rural development.
(2) Promoting urban-rural integrated development by using factor allocation as a driving force.
Optimizing the allocation of factors [21] is key to enhancing the momentum of urban-rural integrated development. For a long time, alongside the rapid advancement of industrialization and urbanization, China's rural areas have unidirectionally supplied factors such as talent, land, and capital to the cities, leaving the countryside in a state of "anemia" or "blood loss." As Xi Jinping has noted, "In some places, industrialization and urbanization have overwhelmed and defeated agricultural modernization." We must follow the general trend of urban-rural integrated development, improve the mechanisms for the rational flow of urban and rural factors, promote equal exchange and two-way flow, and guide capital, technology, and talent to flow into the countryside, thereby resolving the dilemma where "rural land cannot be used by rural people."
Optimizing factor allocation requires better play of the government's role. On one hand, the appeal of interests for factors going to the countryside must be enhanced. Addressing the current state of unequal exchange between urban and rural factors, Xi Jinping noted: "We must find every possible way to create conditions so that rural opportunities attract people and rural environments retain people—especially making a segment of young people love the countryside and agriculture." The long-term flow of factors from the countryside to the city reflects the fact that urban profit margins are greater than rural ones. To promote equal exchange and two-way flow, the government must better perform its role by establishing benefit-incentive mechanisms, guiding capital and talent into the countryside, and ensuring that enterprises "going up to the mountains and down to the villages" [22] obtain sufficient returns through measures such as tax reductions and exemptions. On the other hand, a service mechanism for factors going to the countryside must be established. We must "gradually explore and make institutional arrangements," clear away various obstacles hindering the movement of factors to the countryside, strengthen legal planning, policy guidance, and credit system construction, create a favorable business environment, and provide institutional and mechanistic services at the grassroots level for all types of factors and service entities entering the countryside.
(3) Promoting urban-rural integrated development with industrial development as the foundation.
Industrial development is the material foundation for achieving urban-rural integrated development. Only by developing modern agriculture, promoting the integrated development of primary, secondary, and tertiary industries [23] in rural areas, cultivating new industries and business forms based on locational advantages, and participating in the urban-rural division of labor and collaboration, can the comprehensive revitalization of the countryside possess endogenous power and the channels for increasing farmers' income be widened. Regarding this, Xi Jinping emphasized: "Wait, we must realize that towns and villages promote and advance each other, and coexist and co-live." Urban and rural industries are complementary; we must vigorously develop rural industries and promote the integrated complementarity of urban and rural industry.
To drive industrial development and promote industrial integration, we must focus on the county-level unit, leveraging the county seat’s role as a bridge—the "tail of the city and head of the village" [24]—and vigorously develop the county economy. Xi Jinping emphasized: "We must regard the county level as an important point of entry for urban-rural integrated development," and "tap the potential from developing the diverse functions of agriculture to give play to the multiplier effect of the integrated development of the three industries." We should vigorously develop new economic forms such as leisure agriculture and bed-and-breakfast tourism, promote the development of rural productive service industries, and achieve multi-level alignment between urban and rural production and consumption.
(4) Promoting urban-rural integrated development with infrastructure construction and public services as support.
The massive gap in infrastructure and public services between urban and rural areas is the "short board" [25] of urban-rural integrated development. A prominent manifestation of unbalanced urban-rural development is the unequal allocation of public resources. To this end, Xi Jinping pointed out that we must take the path of urban-rural integrated development, place the focus of public infrastructure construction in the countryside, prioritize the development of rural education, and gradually establish and improve a basic public service system that covers the whole population, is inclusive and shared, and is integrated across urban and rural areas. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, China's rural social security system has achieved a historic transition from non-existence to existence, and rural infrastructure construction has seen obvious results. This has created new historical conditions for upgrading infrastructure and developing public services from "having them" to "making them good."
First, promote the effective improvement of quality and the rational growth of quantity in rural infrastructure construction. On one hand, infrastructure construction must be targeted. Priority should be given to productive rural infrastructure that aligns with agricultural development goals, improves rural governance, and meets the urgent needs of farmers—especially the upgrading of roads, farmland water conservancy facilities, and fiber-optic internet. On the other hand, infrastructure construction must be adept at utilizing various types of capital. Xi Jinping proposed: "We must improve the diversified investment guarantee mechanism, increase investment in agricultural and rural infrastructure, and accelerate the interconnectivity of urban and rural infrastructure." This requires innovating investment methods, guiding and encouraging various types of social capital to participate, and advancing policy-based and developmental financial support for agricultural and rural infrastructure.
Second, achieve the universal coverage and inclusive sharing of the basic public service system. On one hand, we must accelerate the movement of public services to the countryside. Xi Jinping noted: "Newly added funds for social undertakings such as education, culture, and medical health must tilt toward the countryside; public resources for social construction must be cast toward the countryside; basic public services must extend to the countryside; and urban social service forces must go down to support the countryside. We must form a synergy for rural social undertaking development, striving to ensure that the vast peasantry has access to education, medical care, elderly care, and housing." To this end, we must promote the extension of public services to the village and the coverage of social undertakings to agriculture, continuously improve rural basic public service standards, refine the unified urban-rural resident social security system, and improve the capacity and quality of "bottom-line" [26] guarantees. On the other hand, we must focus on ensuring and improving the quality of the "citizenization" of the migrant agricultural population. Xi Jinping emphasized: "For those who are already employed in towns but have unstable employment, find it difficult to adapt to urban requirements, or are unwilling to settle down, we must gradually improve their basic public service levels and strive to resolve their needs in children's education, medical health, and social security." This requires implementing systems to provide basic public services based on residence registration and comprehensively refining the supporting work for the citizenization of the migrant population, so that they want to, and are able to, settle in cities.
(5) Promoting urban-rural integrated development with ecological protection as the grasp.
The path of urban-rural integrated development we must take is one that achieves the harmonious coexistence of man and nature. Xi Jinping pointed out: "A good ecological environment is the countryside's greatest advantage and most precious wealth." Using ecological protection as a "grasp" [27] can both preserve the blue sky for urban and rural residents and achieve green development.
First, use ecological protection as a grasp to construct a good rural ecological environment. Xi Jinping noted: "Carrying out new rural construction absolutely does not mean getting rid of these nostalgic scenes; rather, it means integrating them with modern life. This is why I say we must be cautious in cutting trees, forbid mountain excavation, refrain from filling lakes, and tear down fewer houses." Rural ecological construction must proceed from reality, coordinating with local culture and folk customs, protecting the environment while reflecting rural characteristics and preserving the rural "style and features" [28].
Second, use ecological protection as a grasp to transform the mode of industrial development. On one hand, we must transform the mode of agricultural development. Xi Jinping emphasized: "Agricultural development must not only stop incurring 'new debts' to the ecological environment but must gradually pay back 'old debts'... We must implement stricter protection of mountains, rivers, forests, fields, and lakes, accelerate the treatment of ecologically fragile areas, groundwater 'funnels' [29], and soil heavy-metal pollution areas, and win the tough battle against non-point source pollution in agriculture." This requires adjusting the structure of agricultural inputs, reducing the use of chemical fertilizers, promoting green development, and building a sound ecological environment. On the other hand, we should encourage ecological industrialization and explore mechanisms to realize the value of "ecological products." Xi Jinping pointed out: "Regions with important ecological functions and agricultural status must focus on protecting the ecology, strengthening comprehensive agricultural production capacity, and developing advantageous characteristic industries based on local conditions." This requires refining the price formation mechanism for natural resources to stimulate the enthusiasm of market entities; simultaneously, natural resources should be converted economically in combination with local resource endowments.
About the Authors: Ding Renzhong is a Professor at the Institute of Marxist Economics, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics; Gao Yumeng is an Assistant Researcher at the Institute of Marxist Economics, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics.
Network Editor: Tong Xin Source: Studies in National Modernization, Issue 2, 2025.