On February 13, the Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Prioritizing Key Rural Revitalization Tasks in 2023 was officially released. This year’s No. 1 Central Document—the first issued after the 20th National Congress of the CPC—marks the third consecutive year focusing squarely on rural revitalization, featuring numerous highlights. The document outlines a clear roadmap for safeguarding the fundamental “agriculture, rural areas, and rural people” (the “Three Rurals”) agenda from multiple angles, including building a strong agricultural nation, embracing a holistic “big food” concept, supporting formerly impoverished regions in developing regional public brands, establishing live-streaming e-commerce hubs for agricultural and sideline products, fostering the ready-to-eat meal (pre-prepared food) industry, and implementing the “One County, One Industry” initiative to enrich local economies and benefit residents.
The full document comprises nine sections:
1. Ensuring Stable Production and Supply of Grain and Other Key Agricultural Products;
2. Strengthening Agricultural Infrastructure;
3. Enhancing Support from Agricultural Science, Technology, and Equipment;
4. Consolidating and Expanding Achievements in Poverty Alleviation;
5. Promoting High-Quality Development of Rural Industries;
6. Broadening Channels for Farmers’ Income Growth and Prosperity;
7. Advancing the Construction of Livable, Productive, and Beautiful Villages;
8. Improving the Party-led Rural Governance System;
9. Strengthening Policy Support and Institutional Innovation.
The document emphasizes that as China advances toward comprehensive socialist modernization, the most arduous and complex tasks remain rooted in rural areas. Amid accelerating global transformations unseen in a century and a domestic context characterized by both strategic opportunities and heightened risks—with growing uncertainties and unpredictable factors—it is critically important, and non-negotiable, to firmly secure the “Three Rurals” foundation. The Party Central Committee stresses that addressing “Three Rurals” issues must remain the top priority of the entire Party, and that the whole Party and society must unite to comprehensively advance rural revitalization and accelerate agricultural and rural modernization.
The document calls for resolutely safeguarding key bottom lines—ensuring national food security and preventing large-scale relapse into poverty—and for solidly advancing core tasks in rural development, rural construction, and rural governance, with the aim of accelerating the building of a strong agricultural nation and creating livable, productive, and harmonious rural communities.
A responsible official from the Office of the Central Leading Group on Rural Work stated that the spirit of the 20th Party Congress must be fully implemented, along with General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important expositions on “Three Rurals” work. The rural revitalization responsibility system must be thoroughly enforced, and concrete actions must be taken to deliver the key tasks for 2023 without compromise, ensuring all set objectives are met. This will drive continuous progress in rural revitalization and lay a solid foundation for the successful launch of China’s journey toward becoming a strong agricultural nation.
