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Henan Province showcases China's success in revitalizing rural areas
By Ma Miaomiao  ·  2019-07-04  ·   Source: Web Exclusive

Local representatives share their stories with foreign delegates during a thematic briefing on China’s successful experience in rural revitalization held in Lankao, Henan Province, on June 28 (XINHUA)

Wang Qian quit her job three years ago and went back to her hometown of Zhecheng County in Shangqiu City, central China's Henan Province, where she set up the first rural online shopping service center supported by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba. In the beginning, she mainly helped villagers purchase goods on the Internet, but soon the business expanded to help them open online shops of their own and sell local products such as handicrafts and vegetables.

In the ensuing years of operation, the total sales volume of the service center has reached nearly 25 million yuan ($3.68 million). Wang's business has attracted more than 40 migrant workers to come back home and has provided 300 new jobs for her fellow villagers.

"I was inspired by the policies issued by the Henan Provincial Government on promoting the development of e-commerce in rural areas, which encouraged aspiring entrepreneurs to return home to start businesses," Wang said at a thematic briefing on China's successful experience in rural revitalization.

Over the past four years, more than 1.3 million migrant workers have returned to their hometowns in Henan to start their own businesses, said Wang, adding that she was only one representative of a huge group of people who have been willing to help local people climb out of poverty and live a better life. So far, their efforts have created 8.14 million new jobs for local residents.

The event, co-hosted by the International Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the CPC Henan Provincial Committee, was held in Lankao County on June 28. About 300 representatives of foreign political parties from 35 countries were invited. By showcasing how rural areas in China have been transformed and how people's lives in these areas have changed in recent years, the briefing aimed to help participants better understand China's rural revitalization strategy.

Heeding the call to pursue revitalization in rural areas, Henan has made great efforts as key measures have been adopted including strengthening rural-urban linkages, innovating agricultural production systems, expanding rural non-farming economic opportunities and boosting rural employment.

Food security

As one of China's biggest agricultural provinces, Henan is home to some 50 million rural residents, making up nearly half of its total population.

President Xi Jinping, also General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, during deliberations with deputies from Henan at the Second Session of the 13th National People's Congress in March, called for more efforts to implement the rural revitalization strategy with the chief goal of modernizing agriculture and rural areas.

Considering its ecological conditions, Henan has adopted new technologies when selecting excellent wheat varieties, using fertilizers after soil testing, and controlling diseases and pests. It has also formulated technical regulations on efficient, high-yielding wheat production.

At present, the coverage rate of improved wheat varieties and the comprehensive mechanization level of farming and harvesting in Henan are both at 98 percent, while progress in science and technology now contributes 61 percent to wheat production, said Guo Tiancai, a professor with Henan Agricultural University. Thanks to its high wheat output, Henan has not only solved the problem of feeding the approximate 100 million people in the province, but has also been able to provide other parts of China with more than 200 million km of raw grain and processed products every year.

With only one 16th of China's arable land, the grain output of Henan in 2018 was 66.49 million tons, accounting for 10 percent of the total grain output in China. It also produced a quarter of the wheat output nationwide. In addition, agricultural products worth 16.9 billion yuan ($ 2.49 billion) were exported to 137 countries and regions last year, according to official statistics.

The implementation of the rural revitalization strategy has helped give a new look to China's rural areas and improve the lives of many farmers, said Somphanh Phengkhammy, Vice President of the National Assembly of Laos, adding that China's experiences in poverty alleviation have provided a golden key to the world for reducing poverty.

Delegates attending a thematic briefing on China’s successful experience in rural revitalization visit the Lankao Exhibition Center in Henan Province on June 28 (XINHUA)

New opportunities

Jiao Yulu, a devoted local leader widely known in China, made Lankao famous. Jiao went to Lankao to work as secretary of the county's CPC committee in 1962 and led the people in combating sandstorms and floods until he died of liver cancer at the age of 42 two years later.

The economy in Lankao remained underdeveloped, and by 2014, 77,350 people still lived in poverty while the incidence of poverty was 10.6 percent.

It was not until 2017 that the county was removed from the list of impoverished counties. The people of Lankao found jobs in the booming instrument making and furniture manufacturing industries as well as in homestay tourism, and were awarded special loans for poverty alleviation. New businesses in Lankao have helped locals rise out of poverty and brought many back home.

Traditional culture and handicrafts are being preserved and carried forward along with progress in agriculture and the economy, which is a model provided by China in exploring how to balance the development of urban and rural areas as well as attracting more migrant workers to find new jobs and seize opportunities in their hometowns, said Alejandro Chacon, President of the House of Representatives of Colombia, after conducting field studies in Henan. "China has been able to solve major problems by pooling resources and efforts, and it is a great achievement to bring tens of millions of people out of poverty with actions including industrial development and job creation," he said.

Haotang Village in Xinyang City shares a similar story. With policies encouraging house renovation, living conditions and the ecological environment have been improved and the village has transformed itself into a destination for homestay tourism. The opportunities and income brought about by the development of the rural cultural tourism industry have benefited the local people.

Mathieu Simplice Sarandji, former Prime Minister of the Central African Republic, said rural revitalization is a Chinese solution that the CPC provided to a worldwide problem of imbalanced development between urban and rural areas, which reflected Xi's foresight.

"How to revitalize rural areas is a problem facing many countries around the world; developing countries should learn from China about how it has handled this problem," he added.

Copyedited by Rebeca Toledo

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