Revive Rural China in 27 Simple Steps

China's "Number 1 Document" for this year--the seventh year in a row that it has focused on rural issues--portrays a very ambitious plan for addressing rural problems. It goes on for pages and pages and covers agricultural markets, science and technology, seed companies, rural finance, land, cooperatives and agribusinesses, harmonizing rural and urban development and much more.

Chinese authorities published the graphic below (probably available as full-color poster to decorate communist party office walls nationwide) as a summary of rural policies for 2010. Rural policies have been whittled down to 27 points divided into five sections. Each point represents a whole set of policies, pilot programs, and subsidies. I think this corresponds to the Number 1 document's organization. A translation is below.

2010 Central No. 1 Document
Five-sided Solution to New “Three Rural” Issues

I. Establish and strengthen a complete rural policy system, mobilize rural resources
1. Continue expanding national agirulctural and rural investment
2. Improve agricultural subsidy system and market control mechanism
3. Increase rural financial service quality and level
4. Guide social resources to invest in agriculture and rural areas
5. Open up the rural market

II. Modernize agriculture, promote the transformation of the mode of agricultural development
6. Stabilize development of grain and agricultural commodities in general
7. Build water management infrastructure
8. Build high standard fields
9. Raise agricultural science innovation and extension capacity
10. Establish a complete agricultural commodity system
11. Pursue ecological safety

III. Speed up the improvement of rural life, reduce urban-rural differences in development
13. Enthusiastically promote rural employment creation
14. Raise rural education and health and cultural level
15. Raise rural social insurance level
16. Strengthen rural water, electricity, road, gas, and housing construction
17. Continue poverty alleviation work

IV. Coordinate urban and rural reform, strengthen agricultural and rural development
18. Stabilize and improve rural basic operation system
19. Orderly advance rural land management system reform
20. Raise agricultural production operations organization level
21. Reform forestry
22. Continue deepening rural general reform
23. Advance urbanization development system and innovation
24. Raise agricultural external openness

V. Strengthen rural grassroots organization, strengthen the Communist Party’s basic legal enforcement and administration in rural areas
25. Strengthen and improve rural grassroots party construction
26. Advance and improve rural grassroots governance mechanisms according to national conditions
27. Maintain rural social stability