Not long ago, the Central Rural Work Conference was held to fully implement the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important expositions and instructions on "agriculture, rural areas, and farmers," analyze the situation, and deploy work. In his important instructions, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized "promoting stable income growth for farmers" and "striving for progress and working diligently," pointing out the value orientation of "people" and the clear direction of "action" in "agriculture, rural areas, and farmers" work.
General Secretary Xi Jinping once profoundly pointed out: "Rural revitalization depends on people and on hard work."
During his attendance at the Central Rural Work Conference in 2013, General Secretary Xi Jinping raised the question of "who will farm the land" with considerable concern: "Ultimately, the key to rural economic and social development lies in people. Without people, without labor, there can be no food security, no modern agriculture, no new rural construction, and it will also affect the protection and inheritance of traditional farming culture." The General Secretary also mentioned: "I have heard that in the area where the Hani Rice Terraces are located in Yunnan, fewer and fewer people in the villages can sing ancient songs such as the 'Hani Four Seasons Production Tune' and dance the Hani Music Dance."
His words reveal a long-term vision that the key to rural development lies in people, and a deep concern for the continuation of cultural nostalgia.
In the spring of 2025, General Secretary Xi Jinping visited Guizhou and Yunnan.
In Zhaoxing Dong Village, Liping County, Guizhou Province, a warm fire pit swelled around the drum tower as people gathered to discuss rural revitalization. Among them were retired Party members, guesthouse owners, and college graduates who had returned to their hometowns to start businesses. Upon learning that a first secretary had served in the village twice, the General Secretary said, "The first secretary system must be upheld." Hearing that most people had found employment near their homes, the General Secretary remarked, "This phenomenon is very gratifying."
The rising smoke from a Dong village reflects the vibrant life of thousands of villages and hamlets. Since the new era, the appearance of farmers and the rural landscape have undergone real and profound changes.
The dramatic changes in the mountain villages reflect an unprecedented emphasis on talent revitalization.
In March 2023, at the deliberation of the Jiangsu delegation during the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Wei Qiao, a post-80s soil science master's student, told General Secretary Xi Jinping about her experience of returning to her hometown to start a business and becoming an expert in digital field planting.
The General Secretary praised her, saying, "It's excellent that comrades like Wei Qiao go to the countryside!"
Rural revitalization is a systemic transformation involving industry, talent, culture, ecology, and organization, with people being the key to activating all factors of production. Entering the new era, General Secretary Xi Jinping has systematically outlined a plan, incorporating talent revitalization into the "five revitalizations" framework and emphasizing the creation of a rural workforce that "understands agriculture, loves the countryside, and loves farmers."
"Farmers' professional cooperatives are an effective organizational form for increasing farmers' income and developing modern agriculture." "In developing rural industries, we must highlight the principal role of farmers." "Let farmers shoulder the 'golden burden'."... In terms of developing agricultural technology and innovating business methods, the General Secretary has provided guidance on scientific methodology. Local experts, rural scholars, and science and technology commissioners are making great strides in the vast countryside of the new era, and the vitality of talent is fully flowing.
The tremendous changes in the mountain villages reflect a full understanding and stimulation of people's subjective initiative.
Rural revitalization and the development of agriculture, rural areas, and farmers are the foundation of Chinese-style modernization. To consolidate this foundation, we must not only help and support our fellow villagers, but also stimulate their intrinsic motivation and strengthen our pragmatic orientation and conscious action.
In a 2019 letter to encourage the villagers of Xiadang Township in Shouning County, Fujian Province, General Secretary Xi Jinping hoped they would continue to carry forward the spirit of perseverance and encouraged them to strive to forge a path of rural revitalization with distinctive characteristics of eastern Fujian. During his inspection tour of rural Hubei in 2024, the General Secretary encouraged the hardworking and resilient farmers, saying, "The countryside is a vast land, and agriculture has great potential."
"The people's happy life is achieved through hard work." Only through down-to-earth efforts can we transform our wisdom and strength into tangible results in rural revitalization. At the same time, the process of hard work is also a process of cultivating and testing talent, which can further strengthen the talent pool for rural revitalization.
By prioritizing talent development and stimulating the enthusiasm, initiative, and creativity of all stakeholders, agriculture can become a promising industry, farming an attractive profession, and rural areas a beautiful and peaceful homeland.
Planning: Zhang Xiaosong
Editor-in-Chief: Zhu Jichai
Author: Zhang Yan
Visuals: Zhu Siming, Jia Yining
Produced by Xinhua News Agency Domestic Department
