Building a New Socialist Countryside

It was the major strategic decision for the overall planning of urban and rural development proposed by the Fifth Plenary Session of the Sixteenth CPC Central Committee. The basic requirements for building a new socialist countryside are: production development, ample life, civilized rural customs, clean village appearance, and democratic management. The basic requirements for building a new socialist countryside are rich in connotation, which outlines a beautiful picture of a modernized countryside and proposes a systematic approach to solving the “agriculture, rural areas and farmers” issues. Production development is the central link in the construction of a new countryside and the material basis for achieving other goals. Rich life is the goal of the construction of a new countryside and the basic measure of work. Rural civilization is a reflection of the quality of farmers and reflects the requirements of rural spiritual civilization construction. A clean and tidy village is a window to show the new look of the countryside and an inevitable requirement for the harmonious development of people and the environment. Democratic management is a political guarantee for the construction of a new countryside, showing respect and maintenance for the political rights of the peasants.The construction of a new socialist countryside is a systematic project, and it is also a long-term, arduous and complex major historical task. Building a new socialist countryside and accelerating the change of the lagging situation in rural economic and social development are major historical tasks for our country to comprehensively build a moderately prosperous society in all respects and realize socialist modernization. The core and primary task of the construction of a new socialist countryside is the development of modern agriculture. Only through the development of modern agriculture can we provide solid industrial support for the construction of a new countryside, pointing out the goal of achieving “production development”.

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, Xi Jinping has put forward new ideas, new conclusions, and new measures on building a new socialist countryside and building a beautiful countryside. It is emphasized that a moderately prosperous society comes down to the well-off life of villagers. For China to be strong, agriculture must be strong; for China to be beautiful, the countryside must be beautiful; for China to be rich, farmers must be rich. The integration of urban and rural areas is emphasized and the construction of beautiful villages are for the benefit of the villagers. Don’t spend money on unnecessary things, and don’t demolish and build overly, especially pay attention to the protection of the ancient villages. It is emphasized that rural civilization is the main body of the civilization history of the Chinese nation, the village is the carrier of this civilization, and farming civilization is our soft power. It is emphasized that the countryside is the birthplace of our country's traditional civilization, the roots of local culture cannot be broken, and the countryside cannot become a barren countryside, a left-behind countryside, and a homeland in memory. It is emphasized that the construction of a new countryside should pay attention to the ecological environment and to the local flavor, reflect the characteristics of the countryside, preserve the rural style, adhere to carrying on cultural heritage, and develop beautiful towns with historical memory, regional characteristics, and ethnic characteristics. These important expositions profoundly elaborated the great practical significance of the construction of a new socialist countryside, revealed the historical and cultural origins of the construction of the new countryside, and pointed out the basic requirements and work priorities of the construction of the new countryside.