For many, moss is nothing but a humble tiny plant growing in some inconspicuous wet corners, but for villagers in the mountainous town of Maoyang, it is a cash cow that has carried them out of poverty and on a path to further affluence.

The remote town is located in one of the least developed counties of east China's Zhejiang Province, a major economic powerhouse and a pilot zone for achieving common prosperity.

Building on its distinctive natural resources, the town has nurtured a burgeoning niche industry of breeding moss and selling related products such as potted plants, which are in rising demand in China as people's lives improve. Last year, the moss business generated over 17 million yuan (about 2.4 million U.S. dollars) for the villagers.

A villager packages moss products ordered online for delivery in Maoyang Town of Lishui City, east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 24, 2021. (Xinhua/Jiang Han)

"To make locals rich, you have to foster an industry. To grow bigger, the industry has to leverage local advantages," said Lei Xiaohua, the town's Party chief and a delegate to the ongoing 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

Lei now has even stronger confidence in her town's future, as new arrangements have been made in a report to the congress to attain solid progress in promoting common prosperity for the country's entire population.

FRESH GUIDELINES

Chinese modernization is the modernization of common prosperity for all, according to the landmark report delivered to the congress by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee.

The report charted a roadmap for building a modern socialist China in all respects over the next five years and beyond, outlining measures to boost and properly share the country's development.

In pursuing high-quality development to boost the country's material and technological foundations, China will move faster to build a modernized economy, according to the report.

It noted that efforts will be made to promote integrated urban-rural development and coordinated regional development in a bid to "effectively upgrade and appropriately expand economic output."

To advance rural revitalization across the board, the country will steadily promote the revitalization of businesses, talent, culture, ecosystems and organizations in the countryside, according to the report.

Tourists dance in Sanping Village of Zhongyuan Town in Jing'an County, east China's Jiangxi Province, July 27, 2022. Sanping, once a poverty-stricken village, has now become a popular summer resort. (Xinhua/Wan Xiang)

Pledging to improve the people's well-being and raise their quality of life, the CPC will improve the basic public service system to raise public service standards and make public services more balanced and accessible, the report said.

China will also improve its system of income distribution. The report said the country will ensure "more pay for more work" and encourage people to "achieve prosperity through hard work."

Efforts will be made to promote equality of opportunity, increase the incomes of low-income earners, and expand the size of the middle-income group, the report added.