Shareholding reform to boost China’s rural development

2017-01-03
Xinhua

BEIJING —Reforming the system of collectively owned rural assets through a shareholding cooperative system will inject new growth momentum into the rural economy and increase farmers’ incomes, said a senior official.

“The reform is crucial to improving the vitality of the collective economy in rural areas,” Minister of Agriculture Han Changfu said on Jan 3 at a news conference.

Farmers can voluntarily turn their rights in collective operating assets into shares and acquire corresponding revenue, according to a guideline jointly released last week by the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council.

“The reform has far-reaching significance, and will help promote agricultural development, increase farmers’ incomes and maintain stability in the rural areas,” Han said.

China aims to finish verification of assets owned by villages within three years and to complete the shareholding reform concerning operating assets within about five years, he added.

In China, rural collective assets consist of resource assets, such as land, forest, hills and grassland, operating assets such as buildings, machinery, rural infrastructure and enterprises, and nonoperating assets such as those used for education, science, technology and other public purposes.