New prescription for rural health 06/10/2003
Public health services in rural areas should not be completely dominated by the free market. A support system for farmers is indispensable.

Striving to lighten farmers' burdens 04/08/2003
The first plenary meeting of the 10th National People's Congress (NPC) - in which China's new leaders, including President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, were named - concluded on March 18.

NPC gets to grips with farmer issues 03/04/2003
Uplifting the farmers' livelihood is expected to remain a central topic for national legislators and political advisers as they gather this week in Beijing, officials and analysts said yesterday.

Farmers deserve fairer treatment 02/20/2003
The living standards of Chinese people have greatly upgraded since the nation began its reform and opening-up drive more than two decades ago. However, statistics show that there is a big income gap between urban and rural populations and the disparities are still growing. In order to achieve a more balanced economy, the State should take urgent measures to provide more opportunities for farmers to catch up with their city counterparts.

Rural-to-town labour force on the rise 01/23/2003
The ranks of workers migrating from rural areas swelled to 94 million last year, up 4.7 million over 2001, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Agriculture.

Protect farmers' land-use rights 01/14/2003
Farmers' interests should be fully guaranteed in the land system.
The three main agriculture-related issues - the countryside, farmers and farming - have captured the attention of the governments at all levels. Promoting the industrialized development of agriculture, transferring the rural surplus labour force and increasing farmers' incomes all involve the management of land-use rights.

Improve rural China for a more affluent nation 01/10/2003
To a country where farmers make up more than half of the population, rural prosperity and the well-being of farmers carries prominent weight in China's overall development blueprint.

Farmers' income growth vital for sector 12/25/2002
Despite a generally sound situation, some problems in agricultural development should arouse the government's attention.

Tough way ahead to improve rural economy 12/13/2002
China's agricultural and rural economies continue to face stubborn problems, even though the country has made progress in improving the environment for rural economic development, said Jiang Changyun of the Institute of Macroeconomy under the State Development Planning Commission.

Taxation reform benefits Chinese farmers 11/28/2002
The taxes and fees imposed on 620 million of China's rural population were slashed this year by 30 billion yuan (US$3.6 billion), a year-on-year drop of about 30 percent, thanks to an ongoing reform of transforming administrative fees into taxes in rural areas.

Rural market failing to spur domestic demand 08/20/2002
China's rural market has failed to stimulate domestic demand, despite its huge potential consumer base.

Financial reform of townships urgent 08/13/2002
Despite efforts by the central government to relieve farmers' burdens, irrational fee collection still runs rampant in rural areas.

Reform critical for rural residents 07/01/2002
Problems of the rural economy, which is centred on the slowing of increases in farmer incomes, can find their roots in the national economy. Without proper macroeconomic reforms, the issues will not be effectively dealt with.

State cash urged to fund rural education 06/26/2002
China's top political advisory body yesterday urged the central government to provide more funds to boost education in the country's vast underdeveloped central and western regions.

Spare a moment for the heart of China 05/28/2002
The central government is pinning its hope on the rural areas' fee-to-tax reform to reduce farmers' financial burdens and help increase their incomes.

Farmers' food for thought 05/28/2002
It's an irony. China has traditionally been an agricultural country and three-fourths of its population depend on agriculture even today. But its agricultural industry is still weak, plagued by backward technology and low productivity.

Quashing hukou won't lead to farmer exodus 05/27/2002
The relaxation of the rigid household registration system -- called hukou -- in some cities hasn't sent rural people rushing into urban areas nor would its abolition prompt them to do so, say leading labour science experts.

Rural labourers need urbanization 05/20/2002
The transfer of redundant rural labour to non-farming sectors will be the ultimate way to ensure sustainable and healthy growth of the economy.

Sprawling rural highroads leading farmers to wealth 05/15/2002
China will accelerate rural highway construction to bring farmers closer to outside markets and raise their incomes, an official said in Taiyuan at a symposium.

Better laws needed to help rural areas cope with WTO entry 04/29/2002
China should strengthen its legal system to assist backward rural areas to adapt to the entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO), a legal expert said in Beijing Sunday.

Calls to boost farmers' coffers 03/19/2002
At the ongoing Fifth Session of the Ninth National People's Congress (NPC), calls are growing for a stronger impetus to China's non-farming sectors to spur on the incomes of farmers which have been relatively stagnant over the past few years.

Legislators criticize farm fees burden 03/11/2002
Xu Yanlian, a legislator from East China's Jiangxi Province, said at the weekend that about one-seventh of her annual income is spent on various fees that she and other rural residents are charged.

Relocation for farmers faces snags 01/08/2002
Hunan, the hometown of the revolutionary leader Mao Zedong (1893-1976) in Central China, is eyewitnessing another revolution.

Raising of farmers' income urgent 12/11/2001
The development of China's agriculture industry has entered into a new phase as the era of undersupply has gone.

Farm reform crucial after WTO entry 11/20/2001
The ongoing trial development of rural co-operatives might result in a restructuring of the administrative system in the Chinese countryside, say officials and leading agricultural economists.

Rural surplus labour destined for towns to aid urbanization 09/29/2001
Senior agriculture and rural development researchers suggest local governments should make more of an effort to channel surplus rural labour into small towns.

Rural tax reform still demands adjusting 09/07/2001
The reform of China's rural taxation system achieved remarkable success last year, but many pitfalls still lie ahead, an article in the Beijing-based Macroeconomics magazine said.

Economy demands rural strategy 08/20/2001
Experts say boosting rural economy, and, in turn, increase domestic demand is a wise way to follow.

WTO entry propels rural reform 07/24/2001
China's impending accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) will bring benefits to Chinese farmers by forcing the reform of the agricultural sector, according to industry experts.

Developing secondary and tertiary industries, promoting rural urbanization 03/28/2001
Developing secondary and tertiary industries, promoting rural urbanization and gradually transferring surplus agricultural labor force are the objective needs for making full use of abundant rural labor resources and increasing farmers' income through various channels.

Measures proposed to transfer redundant rural laborers 03/13/2001
A lawmaker from northeast China's Heilongjiang Province has proposed solving the problem of redundant rural laborers via industrial transfer and regional transfer.

China's rural enterprises face strong competition 11/09/2000
A Chinese official has said that China's entry into the WTO would bring daunting challenges as well as welcome opportunities to the country's rural and township enterprises, which are a major engine behind the economy.

Experts say rural people need more training 09/20/2000
China should intensify effort to train its rural population in the coming years, said experts who were participating in an international seminar on the results of the recent agricultural centers.

Changes set to boost farming incomes 09/04/2000
China is launching a drive to halt the falling farming incomes which have followed rural expansion.

Rural pensions need even hand 07/25/2000
To ensure adequate support for older people in rural areas, we need steady government policies across the country and good management of pension funds.