Rural revitalization is not a new quest for China - it’s been on the cards since the country’s reform and opening up was first instituted 40 years ago. After the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in November 2002, more specific policies were implemented to further support rural development.

Part of China’s vision to revitalize the countryside is the process of encouraging migrant workers to return to their hometowns and set up their own businesses. This process has the twin bene fits of reversing the rapid growth of urbanization, one of China’s challenges, as well as providing tangible efforts to reduce poverty.

To assist with this, China’s National Development and Reform Commission released a plan instructing local governments, commercial banks and other financing institutions to support these returning migrants in their startup efforts.

According to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, by the end of 2017, more than 7 million of China’s 286.5 million migrant workers have returned home to set up businesses, with each on average then going on to provide work for four people.

随访截止日期为2017年7月，中位随访时间为60个月。所有患者均采用电话随访或门诊随访。总生存时间的计算为疾病确诊时间至死亡或末次随访的时间间隔。

Allied to providing business opportunities, an important part of improving rural life is that of addressing the basic needs of residents. This has been well catered for in the action plan released in February by the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council. Clean villages, raising awareness of hygiene and a sustainable environment are all non-negotiable if China is to reach its goal of building a “moderately prosperous society in all aspects” by 2020. They are also factors that tie into making the agricultural system more productive and efficient in a collective context. There is an emerging sense that with the government support now available, farming can once again be seen as a noble profession in order to attract young educated people from the cities, as well as empowering those currently working on the land. Such a mindset is also a good example for African countries who struggle with their own rural challenges and who could bene fit from this kind of rural vitalization model.

Ultimately, the Chinese Government is acutely aware that despite its phenomenal progress in economic growth, technological progress and modern infrastructure, without sustainable development in the rural areas, true success of the country’s domestic reforms is not possible.

“妓女。”我头脑中居然本能地闪出这个字眼。但我马上否定了自己的猜测。她的笑不是职业性的，不是那种馅媚与功利的笑，而是笑得有些清冷，有些空灵。

发票可谓是企业的一大心腹，往往也是进项税抵扣的一大难点。以建筑行业为例，通常建筑工程买材料的上家一般是小规模纳税人，招致企业难以拿到增值税专用发票进行进项抵扣，能拿到的发票最多也就是普通发票。另外，建筑工程企业一般耗时长耗费大，较难在第一时间拿到应收款，也就不能在第一时间拨付给上家材料款项，因此许多建筑工程企业能购进原料已实属不易，不会再强行向供应商索要增值税发票。陷入这种困境的企业只能独自承担税负或者冒着违规风险另寻他人开票。

Fundamentally, urbanization, an inescapable global trend, cannot be reversed. The only way to reduce urbanization is to close the gap between urban and rural areas in a holistic way - so that the issues of eradicating poverty, farmers’ welfare, collective land usage,support system for startups and revitalizing the environment can be implemented, merged and managed. The Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and State Council on Implementing the Strategy of Rural Revitalization, or the Central No.1 Document, released earlier this year directly addresses these issues and, based on progress already made, there is growing optimism that China’s rural revitalization will have reached its target of reform by 2020.

In March when China announced to reform Ministry of Agriculture into Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, it heralded a new era of streamlining and efficiency, by unifying the operation of these two related sectors. It is now important to ensure that the political will at the central level filters down to local government level to build a solid foundation for rural revitalization that embraces rural people, agriculture and the rural environment. ca