Xu Qin: Strive to Take the Lead in the National Effort to Build a Strong Agricultural Sector (In-depth Study and Implementation of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era)
General Secretary Xi Jinping has always attached high importance to "three rural" work [1]. In the report to the 20th Party Congress, he made comprehensive arrangements for accelerating the construction of a strong agricultural country; at the Central Rural Work Conference held at the end of last year, he systematically expounded upon a series of major theoretical and practical issues regarding this construction. Heilongjiang is deeply implementing the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speeches, resolutely shouldering its mission and responsibility as a major agricultural and grain-producing province. We are accelerating the construction of a strong agricultural province and striving to act as a responsible leader in the front ranks of building a strong agricultural country.
A Strong Agricultural Country is the Foundation of a Strong Socialist Modernized Country
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Without a strong agricultural country, there can be no overall strong modernized country; without agricultural and rural modernization, socialist modernization is incomplete." Building a strong agricultural country carries the dream of national rejuvenation, constructs the foundation of national prosperity and strength, and embodies the responsibility of building a community with a shared future for humanity. We must consolidate our historical confidence, enhance our historical initiative, and march courageously toward the goal of building a strong agricultural country.
To strengthen the nation, one must first strengthen agriculture; only when agriculture is strong can the nation be strong. Our country is a large populous nation and a major agricultural power; building a strong agricultural country is an ideal and vision passed down through millennia by the Chinese nation. Entering the New Era, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has insisted on taking the resolution of "three rural" issues as the top priority of all Party work. By continuously valuing, strengthening, and benefiting agriculture, we have historically resolved the problem of absolute poverty and created a miracle in the history of human poverty reduction. We are closer to the beautiful prospect of a strong agricultural country than at any other period in history. Through more than 70 years of development and construction, Heilongjiang has achieved the historic transformation from the "Great Northern Wilderness" [2] to the "Great Northern Granary." We must base ourselves on our resource endowments, leverage our comparative advantages, accelerate the realization of agricultural and rural modernization, and turn the dream of a strong agricultural country into a beautiful reality.
When agriculture is stable, the world is at peace; when agriculture flourishes, the foundation is secure. Food security is a "top priority of the state" [3]; no strong country has ever relied on others to solve its food problem. Since the 18th Party Congress, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has established a national food security strategy, formed a new concept of food security, and led over 1.4 billion Chinese people onto a path of food security with Chinese characteristics. In today's world, where changes unseen in a century are accelerating and uncertain and unpredictable factors are significantly increasing, we cannot afford the slightest paralysis or negligence regarding food security. In 2022, Heilongjiang's total grain output reached 155.26 billion jin [4], accounting for 11.3% of the national total, ranking first in the country for 13 consecutive years. We must persist in taking the cultivation of more and better grain as our top priority, serving as the nation's most stable, reliable, and solid "great granary."
When the countryside prospers, the nation prospers; when farmers are wealthy, the nation is wealthy. The countryside is not only the spatial carrier of agricultural production but also the homeland where the vast number of farmers are born and raised. Currently, the overall income level of farmers is not high, and rural infrastructure and public services lag behind those of cities. The most arduous and heavy tasks for comprehensively building a socialist modernized country remain in the countryside. We must vigorously promote rural revitalization, ensure that rural areas possess modern living conditions, and enable farmers to achieve all-around development and lead more affluent and beautiful lives. We must always adhere to the priority development of agriculture and the countryside, integrally promote agricultural and rural modernization, and accelerate the construction of a beautiful countryside that is pleasant to live and work in.
Adhere to Chinese characteristics and stay the course on our own path. Building a strong agricultural country requires both following the general laws of agricultural modernization—reflecting common characteristics such as strong supply guarantee, strong technological equipment, strong management systems, strong industrial resilience, and strong competitiveness—and proceeding from our national conditions. We must base our efforts on our resource endowment of many people and little land, the historical depth of our farming civilization, and the contemporary requirements for the harmonious coexistence of man and nature, unswervingly following a path toward a strong agricultural country that embodies Chinese characteristics. Heilongjiang possesses rich agricultural resources and an excellent ecological environment; it has a unique and solid foundation for achieving agricultural modernization. We must implement the spirit of the 20th Party Congress and the Central Rural Work Conference, firmly grasp the connotations, characteristics, and basic requirements of building a strong agricultural country, anchor ourselves to this goal, earnestly handle agricultural and rural work, and actively explore, practice, and forge new paths in the construction of a strong agricultural country.
Make Greater Contributions to Accelerating the Construction of a Strong Agricultural Country
General Secretary Xi Jinping has always cared for Heilongjiang and the "black soil" [5], requiring us to strive to be the vanguard of agricultural modernization and the "ballast stone" for maintaining national food security. We must keep in mind the General Secretary's important instructions and earnest entrustments, accelerate the construction of a strong agricultural province, and strive to achieve breakthroughs, set examples, and serve as the vanguard in the construction of a strong agricultural country.
Vigorously implement actions to enhance grain production capacity. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Ensuring the stable and secure supply of grain and important agricultural products is always the top priority in building a strong agricultural country." As an important commercial grain base and strategic grain reserve base for the country, Heilongjiang must strengthen its awareness of the responsibility to share the Party’s concerns and grow grain for the nation, resolutely serving as the "ballast stone" for national food security. We must adhere to the shared responsibility of the Party and government for food security, implement mechanisms to guarantee income for grain farmers and compensation mechanisms for major producing areas, and protect and mobilize the enthusiasm of farmers for growing grain and grassroots authorities for managing grain. We will fully implement the plan to increase grain production by 10 million tons, providing strong support for the national new round of action to increase grain production capacity by 100 billion jin. We will strengthen the protection and utilization of black soil cropland and improve water conservancy infrastructure. We will deeply implement high-quality grain projects, leverage our role as the main force in domestic high-protein soybean cultivation, and build national strategic supply bases for japonica rice and high-quality production bases for corn and soybeans to greater heights, contributing more to the confidence and security of "Chinese grain."
Vigorously implement the practice of the "Greater Food Commandment" [6]. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "We must establish a Greater Food Commandment, build a diversified food supply system, and develop food sources through multiple channels." Heilongjiang has a forest area of 210,000 square kilometers, more than 6,000 natural lakes, and over 100 species of wild fish. It is rich in agricultural production resources and has immense space for practicing the Greater Food Commandment. We must orderly expand the scale of land for the "under-forest economy" [7], develop and strengthen leading forest-food enterprises, extend industrial chains, and build ecological forest-food supply bases. We will vigorously develop cold-water aquaculture and processing, building production and supply bases for cold-water fish products. We will persist in the dual-wheel drive of facility agriculture and open-field cultivation, improve the scale and standardization of facility agriculture, and build fruit and vegetable production bases in cold regions. We will accelerate the development of modern animal husbandry, refine the edible fungus industry, strengthen the bio-industry, and promote the expansion of food sources from traditional crops and livestock to more diverse biological resources.
Vigorously implement the action for modern agricultural revitalization. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Industrial revitalization is the top priority of rural revitalization." Heilongjiang is the province with the largest area of moderate-scale land management, reaching 147 million mu [8]; its comprehensive mechanization rate for crop cultivation and harvesting remains stable at over 98%; the planting area of independently bred varieties of major crops accounts for 87%; and the contribution rate of agricultural scientific and technological progress has reached 69.5%. It possesses a solid material and technical foundation for developing modern agriculture. We must vigorously develop "technology agriculture, green agriculture, quality agriculture, and brand agriculture," accelerating the construction of a modern agricultural industrial system, production system, and management system, and constantly improving the overall quality and competitiveness of the agricultural industry. Support technology agriculture through innovation, strengthening the Jiamusi National Agricultural High-tech Industrial Demonstration Zone and the collaborative innovation and promotion system for modern agricultural technology. We will promote the deep integration of "digital + bio + agriculture," strengthen seed industry technological innovation, build a provincial-level digital agriculture platform, and create a national digital agriculture demonstration zone. We will actively promote modern equipment such as intelligent agricultural machinery monitoring terminals and high-horsepower tractors, striving to create a national pilot zone for the promotion and application of high-end intelligent agricultural machinery. Rely on ecological advantages to develop green agriculture, vigorously promote green standardized production, and steadily expand the certified area of green organic food to build the nation's largest green granary and green kitchen. Develop quality agriculture based on standardized production, improving the system of local agricultural standards and strengthening supervision of food and agricultural product quality to build a full-process traceability system "from field to table." Advance brand agriculture driven by marketing, further amplifying the influence of the "Heilongjiang Quality Products" brand to ensure the people of the whole country can eat higher quality, greener, and safer Longjiang [9] food.
Vigorously implement rural construction actions. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Building a beautiful countryside that is pleasant to live and work in is an inherent part of being a strong agricultural country." Realizing that rural areas basically possess modern living conditions is an important arrangement made by the 20th Party Congress and an inevitable requirement for improving the quality of life for rural residents and keeping people in the countryside. The task of realizing rural modernization in Heilongjiang is still arduous. We must deeply implement rural construction actions, persist in county-level coordination, and promote full coverage of village planning to scientifically determine village layouts and construction boundaries. We will accelerate the construction of infrastructure such as roads, electricity, communications, and logistics, as well as public service facilities for epidemic prevention, elderly care, and education, enhancing rural health and medical service capabilities. We will implement actions to improve the rural living environment, focusing on the "Toilet Revolution" [10], sewage treatment, and household waste management, creating model beautiful and livable villages. We will persist in leading rural governance through Party building, improving a rural governance system that combines autonomy, the rule of law, and the rule of virtue under the leadership of Party organizations. We will strengthen the construction of rural spiritual civilization and promote a social atmosphere of honoring relatives, helping neighbors, and maintaining integrity and etiquette.
Vigorously implement actions to increase farmers' income. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "We must persist in taking the increase of farmers' income as the central task of 'three rural' work and do everything possible to broaden the channels for farmers to increase their wealth." Heilongjiang is rich in characteristic agricultural and rural resources, providing a good foundation for developing industries that enrich the rural populace. We must succeed at the "Grain Head and Food Tail" and "Agricultural Head and Industrial Tail" [11], doing a good job with "local specialties," improving mechanisms for linking farmers to industries, and promoting the integrated development of primary, secondary, and tertiary industries to keep more value-added benefits in the countryside and for the farmers. We will develop the new type of rural collective economy and grant farmers more adequate property rights and interests. We will encourage and support farmer entrepreneurship and innovation to increase their wage income. We will continue to consolidate and expand the achievements of poverty alleviation, promoting the sustained and stable income growth of the population lifted out of poverty, ensuring that no one falls behind on the road to common prosperity.
Gathering Resources and Strength to Accelerate the Construction of a Strong Agricultural Country
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "The key to handling rural affairs well and realizing rural revitalization lies in the Party." Accelerating the construction of a strong agricultural country involves many industries, broad fields, and large groups. We must persist in and strengthen the Party's comprehensive leadership over "three rural" work, gathering resources and strength from all of society to promote the steady and long-term progress of building a strong agricultural country.
Improve the implementation mechanism for the Party's comprehensive leadership. Fully leverage the Party's role in overseeing the overall situation and coordinating all parties. Adhere to the system where "secretaries at five levels" [12] take charge of rural revitalization; county Party secretaries must serve as "frontline chief commanders." Establish implementation mechanisms for leadership responsibility, work promotion, supervision and inspection, and assessment and evaluation to ensure the CPC Central Committee's decisions and arrangements are implemented effectively. We will increase the education and training of cadres on the agricultural front, deeply studying and understanding General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important expositions on "three rural" work to improve their policy and theoretical levels and turn them into experts in leading rural work. We will strengthen the construction of rural grassroots Party organizations, dispatching and utilizing first secretaries and work teams stationed in villages to build strong fighting bastions that effectively realize the Party’s leadership.
Improve the talent support mechanism. Talent is the most precious resource and the basic, strategic support for accelerating the construction of a strong agricultural country. We will combine local cultivation with external introduction, encouraging talent to flow to the countryside and attracting graduates from universities and vocational schools, migrant workers returning home, and urban retirees to start businesses in rural areas. We will open channels for urban talent in education, technology, culture, and health to serve the countryside, build volunteer service platforms, and establish mechanisms for talent cultivation and exchange between urban and rural areas, regions, and universities and localities, attracting more talent to devote themselves to the practice of building a strong agricultural country.
Improve the investment guarantee mechanism. Building a strong agricultural country requires strong policy guidance and financial investment. Leverage the priority role of fiscal guarantees, improve long-term mechanisms for the overall integration of agriculture-related funds, and improve the efficiency of fiscal funds. Develop inclusive finance in rural areas, innovate financial products and services, and promote the "Agricultural Big Data + Finance" model for supporting agriculture. We will improve the linkage mechanism between government investment, finance, and social investment, encouraging and guiding social capital toward agriculture and the countryside, establishing rural revitalization funds, and supporting the development of rural industries and public infrastructure.
Improve the mechanism for broad participation by all of society. Building a strong agricultural country is a common cause for the whole society. We will vigorously publicize the Party Central Committee’s principles, policies, and strategic arrangements for building a strong agricultural country. We will leverage the role of think tanks and experts in decision-making consultation, strengthen theoretical and policy research on agricultural power and modernization, and create a favorable public opinion atmosphere for valuing and strengthening agriculture. We will deeply implement the "Ten Thousand Enterprises Helping Ten Thousand Villages" [13] action, mobilizing various forces—including state-owned enterprises, non-public enterprises, universities, research institutes, trade associations (chambers of commerce), and volunteer teams—to participate in and support the construction of a strong agricultural country.