China to make county towns priority in new phase of urbanization

BEIJING - China has released guidelines demanding various localities across the country promote urbanization with a focus on county towns.

The guidelines, jointly issued by the General Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council General Office, said the move aims to better meet the needs of rural residents to find jobs and settle down in county towns.

The move is expected to help drive the development and modernization of rural areas, and expand domestic consumption and investment, while creating more jobs and improving the lives of residents in county seats, an official of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) told Xinhua, expounding on a May 6 guideline on the subject.

By the end of 2021, China had 910 million permanent urban residents, of whom 160 million were in county seats, official data shows.

The guideline, jointly released by the general offices of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council, said that by 2025, the country will see a bevy of county seats improved in a well-rounded way, with more rural people working and residing in county seats. The guideline said the move aims to better meet the needs of rural residents to find jobs and settle down in county towns. The guidelines list a series of measures including developing competitive industries, creating more jobs in county towns and strengthening ecological conservation.

The NDRC said that China will devise differentiated paths of development for five major types of county seats: those close to metropolises; those with an industrial edge or specific functions; agriculture-intensive ones; those of ecological significance; and those suffering from population outflows.

The first is to accelerate the development of counties around major cities, support counties located within city clusters and metropolitan areas to integrate into the development of neighbouring major cities, and develop them into satellite counties with convenient commuting, complementary functions and supporting industries to neighbouring major cities.

Second, actively cultivate professional functional counties, support counties with advantages in resources and transportation to develop into professional functional counties such as advanced manufacturing, trade and circulation, and cultural tourism, and support border counties to improve their infrastructure.

The third is the rational development of counties and cities in the main agricultural-producing areas to provide support for effective service to the "three rural areas" and ensure food security.

Fourth, the orderly development of counties in key ecological function areas, to provide support for the protection and restoration of the ecological environment and the building of a solid ecological security barrier.

Fifth, it will guide the transformation and development of counties with population loss, promote the moderate concentration of population and public service resources, and strengthen livelihood protection and relief support. At the same time, the development of county towns should strictly adhere to the red line for arable land and permanent basic farmland, ecological protection and urban development boundaries, and prevent the risk of local government debt.

In the process, China will focus on cultivating competitive industries and improving public infrastructure and services in county seats, while making medical care, education and elderly care more accessible in rural areas surrounding county seats.

The first is to improve the medical and health care system and promote the upgrading of county hospitals (including Chinese traditional medicine hospitals). The second is to expand the supply of education resources, promote the expansion of compulsory education schools and increase their capacity, and improve the layout of kindergartens. The third is to develop elderly care services, provide basic elderly care and long-term care services, and support social forces to develop childcare services. Fourth, to optimise cultural and sports facilities, improve the functions of cultural venues according to needs, and build fitness carriers for residents. Fifth, to improve social welfare facilities and help rescue disabled people, youths and vagrants.

The country will also make it easier for the rural population to settle down in county seats, while improving investment and financing for the development of county seats.

China's urbanization rate of permanent residence hit 64.72 percent in 2021, said the NDRC. China aims to raise its urbanization rate to 65 percent during the 2021-2025 period, according to the 14th Five-Year Plan.

About half of China's population lives in counties, and the majority of the 500 million rural population lives in rural areas within counties. It is necessary to improve the ability of county cities to radiate and drive rural areas' development, promote the integration of county and rural infrastructure and public services, supplement agriculture with industry, bring rural areas with cities, and accelerate the integrated development of urban and rural areas within counties, said the NDRC official.

To achieve this, first, promote the extension of county infrastructure to the countryside, promote the extension of municipal water and gas supply and heating networks to suburban villages and larger towns, and establish a unified infrastructure management and operation mechanism for urban and rural areas. The second is to promote the coverage of public services from the county to the countryside, establish a closely connected county medical and health community, develop urban-rural education community, and improve the three-tier network of elderly services that connects the county and the countryside. The third is to promote the effective connection between the consolidation and expansion of the results of poverty eradication and rural revitalization.

In regard to the timing of promoting the development of county cities, the NDRC official indicates that the timing should be reasonably grasped, and demonstration areas are proved as an effective way to do so. Since 2020, the National Development and Reform Commission has organised and worked with various regions and departments to carry out demonstration projects on county city construction in some counties and county-level cities with solid development bases, strong financial strength and low government debt ratios, encouraging them to innovate policy support mechanisms and project investment and operation models, so as to make substantial progress and generate good experiences and practices early for reference by other counties and cities. On the basis of the demonstration work, typical experiences and effective practices will be summarised and promoted in a timely manner, so as to steadily and orderly promote the construction of other county cities and form an effective path for urbanisation with the county city as an important carrier.

Sources:

<http://english.www.gov.cn/statecouncil/ministries/202205/08/content_WS62771e93c6d02e533532a647.html>

<https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/KMDJrUHWtSrsHWsubUVWvw>

Edited and translated by Fan Junyi