People's Daily:

We all know that the protection of farmland is of vital importance to a nation, and not crossing the red line of 1.8 billion mu of farmland is a long-term task that requires concerted efforts. What progress has been made in holding both CPC committees and governments accountable for the protection of farmland? And what are the plans going forward in this regard? Thank you.

Liu Guohong:

Thank you to the reporter from People's Daily for the question. As we all know, farmland is the lifeline of grain production and the foundation of the sustainable development of the Chinese nation. General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized that farmland is the country's most precious resource and its protection is of utmost importance. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure that the total area of China's farmland stays above the redline of 120 million mu. The key to safeguarding the redline of farmland lies in ensuring that both the CPC committees and governments are held accountable, and ensuring that Party committees and governments at all levels fulfill their primary responsibility in this respect.

Since last year, in accordance with the policy decisions and plans of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, we have cooperated with the National Development and Reform Commission and other departments to actively promote the integration of assessments on farmland protection and food security. Early this year, the central government issued measures for assessing how well farmland is protected and food security is ensured, providing comprehensive regulations on the assessment targets, content, procedures and application of the assessment results. The overall institutional framework for assessment work has been established. In general, our work is as follows: First, we have ensured that both CPC committees and governments are held accountable, making everyone involved clear about the implementation of the system of responsibility for CPC committees and governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities to protect farmland and ensure food security. Assessment is conducted annually. Second, we have highlighted the key points of assessment and allowed "veto power" over major issues such as surpassing the redline of farmland, reflecting our resolutions of strict control and complete protection. Third, we have standardized the assessment procedures and taken measures such as self-inspection at provincial level and ad hoc on-site inspections, to ensure the objectivity and fairness of assessment results. Fourth, we have strengthened the application of assessment results, specifying that assessment results serve as significant references for comprehensive evaluation, performance assessment and auditing-based accountability of officials. Financial rewards and penalties will be given based on how well protection targets are fulfilled.

We are currently working with relevant departments and heads of CPC committees and governments at the provincial level to sign responsibility agreements for protecting farmland, making a promise to the CPC Central Committee and the State Council in terms of protecting farmland. Next, we will actively work with relevant departments to introduce supporting systems and regulations such as the assessment rules and detailed scoring criteria. Efforts will be made to promote the implementation of assessment measures as soon as possible and put in place requirements to ensure that both CPC committees and governments are held accountable and to implement lifelong accountability, in order to ensure that the total area of China's farmland stays above the redline of 120 million mu and the Chinese people firmly hold their rice bowls in their own hands. 

Thank you.