Farmers' Daily:

Jinggangshan was the first to be removed from the list of impoverished areas. By April 2020, all 25 formerly impoverished counties in Jiangxi had been lifted out of poverty, and the old revolutionary base areas in the south of Jiangxi province had shaken off poverty as a whole. In the next step, how will Jiangxi promote rural vitalization based on its achievements of poverty alleviation, and enhance people's sense of gain, well-being, and security in its old revolutionary base areas? Thanks.

Liu Qi: 

Thank you for the journalist's question. I will answer your question.

It is our fundamental goal to accelerate high-quality development of the old revolutionary base areas and to help people there live happier and better lives. That is also our historical responsibility.

In February 2017, Jinggangshan was the first to be removed from the list of impoverished areas across the nation. By April 2020, all 25 formerly impoverished counties in Jiangxi had been lifted out of poverty. We fulfilled the promise that no one in the old revolutionary base areas would be left behind on our way to prosperity. We have brought the old revolutionary base areas onto a fast track for high-quality and leapfrogging development.

General Secretary Xi Jinping has reiterated on many occasions that shaking off poverty is not the finish line but the starting point of a new life and new endeavor. We should consolidate poverty alleviation achievements and initiate a dovetailing drive for rural vitalization. Efforts must be made to promote high quality and efficiency in the agricultural sector, make rural areas suitable to live and work in, and ensure that farmers are affluent and well-off. We will build up beautiful villages in the new era, featuring thriving business; civilization and simplicity; joint contribution and shared benefits; natural ecosystems; and harmony and order. 

We will help people from the old revolutionary base areas become better-off. The key is to develop industries that enrich local people. 

Relying on abundant resources and a good industrial base, we aim for better crop varieties, quality improvement and brand building. We will make concerted efforts to develop competitive industries with distinctive features such as tea, Chinese herbal medicine, oil tea, and selenium-rich agriculture. We will also foster new business models such as homestays, rural tourism, leisure, and health care. We will promote the integrated development of the primary, secondary, and tertiary industries in rural areas, and improve their quality and efficiency. We will make farmers enjoy more development dividends in rural industries. As for the poverty alleviation industry, in particular, we will strengthen policy support, increase its market competitiveness and resistance to risks, and promote its high-quality and sustainable development. 

We will make our villages more beautiful. Jiangxi has beautiful mountains and clear rivers. The rural scenery can be seen everywhere. In accordance with the requirements of "careful planning, fine construction, precise management, and exquisite presentation," we will vigorously implement rural construction, deepen the comprehensive improvement of urban and rural environments, launch a five-year program to improve the rural living environment, and promote the advancement of the rural living environment from basic improvement to quality improvement.

We will improve the rural public health system, raise the level of rural old-age insurance and subsistence allowance standards, and build a "one-stop service" rural comprehensive service platform to make rural life more convenient, more comfortable, and happier. We will keep improving the rural ethos. We will improve the modern rural governance model, which combines self-governance, rule of law, and rule of virtue.

We will encourage villagers to participate in rural public affairs in an innovative way. We will further implement the training project for rural "law-wise people" and steadily improve levels of good rural governance. We will raise cultural and ethical standards in rural areas and promote social etiquette in the new era. We will work to see the back of outdated social mores and to promote social etiquette and civility, stress family education and family values, and protect simple folk customs. We will help people from the old revolutionary base areas get rich both in their pockets and in their brains. Thank you.