Research on the Coordinated Development of Rural Revitalization and Human-centered Urbanization Based on Urban-rural Integration

Bo WANG, Puming HE

Hubei Rural Development Research Center of Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434023, Hubei, China

Abstract Although there are certain differences in the center of gravity between rural revitalization and human-centered urbanization, their connotations and goals require that both must be promoted in concert. Therefore, based on a deep understanding of the connotation of rural revitalization and human-centered urbanization, it is necessary to clarify the goals of the two through the two-way flow of elements between urban and rural areas, the urban-rural linkage of industries, to achieve coordinated promotion of rural revitalization and human-centered urbanization in China.

Key words Urban-rural integration, Rural revitalization, Human-centered urbanization

1 Introduction

Since the report of the 19Party Congress put forward the vigorous implementation of the rural revitalization strategy, various theoretical explorations and practical innovations on rural revitalization have been emerging, one of which is the relationship between the rural revitalization strategy and the promotion of new urbanization. The 14Five-Year Plan also proposes that we should promote urbanization with people at its core, to comprehensively implement the rural revitalization strategy, to strengthen the use of industry to supplement agriculture, to combine the countryside with the city, and to promote the formation of a new industrial-agricultural-urban-rural relationship in which industry and agriculture promote each other, urban and rural areas complement each other and develop in a coordinated manner and prosper together. Therefore, rural revitalization and human-centered urbanization need to work in tandem, and the path to realizing the tandem between rural revitalization and new urbanization can assist in the "integration" of urban and rural areas.

2 The necessity of synergy between rural revitalization and human-centered urbanization

2.1 The connotation of rural revitalization and human-centered urbanization requires the integration and interaction between urban and rural areas

The construction of a new countryside was proposed in 2005, and after more than 10 years of construction, remarkable results have been achieved. However, with the transformation of the main social contradictions in China, the 20-word policy of new rural construction can no longer meet the people’s aspiration for a better life, and it is necessary to deepen the development ideas of reforming the countryside in response to the reality of unbalanced and insufficient development in China, revitalize the countryside comprehensively, adhere to the preferential development of agriculture and rural areas, and take the modernization of farmers as the lead. We need to cultivate and create a working team, which understands agriculture, loves farmers, and the countryside, and promote the integration of the three rural industries through the organic linkage between small farmers and modern agriculture, thus promoting the modernization of agriculture and rural areas.

Traditional urbanization has led to the concentration of rural production factors in towns and cities, and rural development has been seriously affected, with phenomena such as aging and hollowing out. Human-centered urbanization, on the other hand, is urbanization that goes hand in hand with industrialization, informatization, and agricultural modernization, urbanization that harmonizes population, economy, resources, and environment, urbanization that coordinates the development of the large, medium, and small cities and towns, and urbanization that coordinates the development of population concentration, "citizenization" and public services. The above connotations and basic features of human-centered urbanization have a high degree of overlap and fit with the 20-word policy of rural revitalization, which fully embodies the human-centered development concept. Therefore, no matter whether it is the implementation of rural revitalization or the promotion of new urbanization, it is not possible to fight alone and we should make a collaborative effort, viewing the city and the countryside as an organic whole or a development community, building a new type of industrial-agricultural-urban-rural relationship, and taking the road of integrated urban-rural development.

2.2 The goal of rural revitalization and human-centered urbanization requires both urban and rural areas to be driven by "two wheels"

The

2018

Strategic

Plan

for

Rural

Revitalization

(

2018-2022

) issued by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the State Council sets out the development goals and visionary plans for rural revitalization so that by 2050, the countryside will be fully revitalized and strong agriculture, beautiful countryside, and rich farmers will be fully realized. In the eighth collective study of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee in 2018, Xi Jinping stressed that the strategy of revitalizing the countryside should be the key link of the work of the "issues concerning agriculture, countryside and farmers" in the new era, promoting the comprehensive upgrading of agriculture and the comprehensive progress of the countryside and the comprehensive development of farmers, and pointed out that the modernization of agriculture and the countryside is the overall goal of implementing the strategy of revitalizing the countryside. From this, it can be seen that the ultimate goal of rural revitalization is to realize the "three modernizations" of the "issues concerning agriculture, countryside and farmers", namely the modernization of agriculture, rural areas, and farmers. Modernization of farmers is both the goal and the means of modernizing agriculture and rural areas.

At present, China has entered a new era, the main social contradictions have changed, and the national and agricultural conditions have also undergone profound changes, so we must establish a new concept and vigorously transform the agricultural development model. Only by cultivating and creating a large number of modern farmers with the ideology of modern agriculture and the ability to think and operate, will it be possible to promote comprehensive agricultural upgrading and rural progress. General Secretary Xi’s "all for the people, all for the people" sentiment for the people, specifically implemented in the "issues concerning agriculture, countryside and farmers", is to reduce the gap between urban and rural areas through the modernization of agriculture and rural areas, improve and enhance the production and living conditions of farmers, and promote the overall development of farmers. The modernization of agriculture and rural areas is to narrow the gap between urban and rural areas, improve the production and living conditions of farmers, promote the overall development of farmers and modernize them.

The key is to improve the quality of urbanization, benefit the people, and enrich the farmers. In the process of promoting urbanization, the first thing to do is to complete the issue of the urbanization of the population transferred from agriculture. At present, the urbanization rate of China’s household population is lower than the urbanization rate of the resident population, and the difference has always remained above 16% in recent years, which indicates that the population transferred from the countryside has not been integrated into the cities and towns, and also shows that China is still in the rapid urbanization stage of "affluent farmers must be formed by reducing farmers". Therefore, in the process of promoting new-type urbanization, we should not only focus on quantity, but more importantly, improve the quality of urbanization, and truly realize the citizenship of the transferred agricultural population, so that they can be transferred, stay and develop well, thus creating favorable conditions for large-scale agricultural operations. What is more important is to help farmers get rid of the traditional small farmer’s consciousness, establish new development concepts, change their way of thinking, improve their living environment and lifestyle, and enhance the production capacity of modern agriculture through new urbanization.

Many of the dilemmas encountered by China in promoting human-centered urbanization can be resolved through the revitalization of the countryside. The introduction of the rural revitalization strategy has not only opened up vast business opportunities for the development of capital, technology, and human capital in towns and cities, but also created conditions to meet citizens’ aspirations for a better life and to alleviate urban drawbacks. In recent years, the downward pressure on China’s economy has been greater, the efficiency of the real economy in China’s cities has declined, capital and technology in cities and towns have to find a way out, and migrant workers have also returned to the countryside. The introduction of the rural revitalization strategy has provided a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the transfer of capital, technology, and human capital from cities and towns, such as the rise of special towns, the development of modern agriculture, the concept of field complex, the construction of beautiful villages, eco-tourism, and Internet+ agriculture. The rise of special towns, the development of modern agriculture, the concept of field complex, the construction of beautiful countryside, eco-tourism, and internet+ agriculture,

etc.

, provide the stage for the development of capital, technology, and human capital in cities and towns. In addition, the revitalization of the countryside has greatly stimulated the consumption potential of the rural market, providing a huge market for the sale of industrial goods in the towns. Moreover, as the middle class in towns and cities continues to expand and the number of retired urban residents increases, more and more citizens are aspiring to come to the countryside to experience idyllic life and leisure retirement. In the process of China’s urbanization, the urban problems of large and medium-sized cities are becoming increasingly prominent. By implementing rural revitalization and promoting local urbanization, the pressure of a large influx of population into large and medium-sized cities can be better relieved.

Therefore, the revitalization of the countryside cannot be separated from the new urbanization, and the new urbanization cannot be separated from the revitalization of the countryside. It is important to adhere to a two-wheel drive to achieve a win-win situation and achieve a "1+1>2" effect.

3 The path of synergy between rural revitalization and human-centered urbanization

3.1 Two-way flow of factors to promote the synergy between rural revitalization and human-centered urbanization

For a long time in the past, due to the dual structure of urban and rural areas and the urban priority development strategy, various factors of production have been concentrated in cities and industries under the action of market mechanisms and policy guidance, resulting in rapid economic development in cities, while villages have gradually declined and withered. In the process of implementing rural revitalization and promoting human-centered urbanization, whether it requires urban-rural integration or urban-rural dual-wheel drive, the two-way flow of factors between urban and rural industries and farmers is a key factor and an important symbol. To promote the two-way free flow of production factors between urban and rural areas and between workers and farmers, it is necessary to bring into play both the blocking mechanism of the market and the guiding mechanism of government policies.

The 14Five-Year Plan proposes that we should improve the mechanism of integrated urban-rural development, promote the equal exchange and two-way flow of urban and rural factors, and enhance the vitality of agricultural and rural development. However, in a market economy, factors of production tend to be profit-oriented and will flow to whichever place and industry with a high-profit rate. In the past, factors of production kept flowing to cities, and industry is a typical case. The key to insisting on the two-wheel-drive of rural revitalization and new urbanization is to improve the efficiency of investment of factors of production in rural areas and agriculture, to attract factors of production to flow to rural areas, and invest in agriculture. Firstly, it is necessary to narrow the comparative efficiency of industrial and agricultural production through human-centered urbanization, effectively transfer the agricultural population, promote moderate scale operation of agricultural production, and improve labor productivity in agriculture, while improving the comparative efficiency of agricultural production and attracting the return of human capital through the development of specialty agriculture and the production of high-quality agricultural products. Secondly, it is necessary to accelerate the extension of the pilot experience in the reform of the market for collective business construction land to create conditions for urban capital to move to the countryside. Thirdly, it is necessary to revitalize rural land resources, further improve the policy of mortgage loans for rural land management rights, and broaden financing channels for farmers’ entrepreneurship and agricultural production; revitalize idle residential bases and idle farm buildings, and improve relevant policies to allow them to be mortgaged, to allow the development of projects such as B&Bs or pensions, to allow transfer to citizens going to the countryside, and to allow leasing to enterprises going to the countryside.

However, based on various practical factors, it is difficult to achieve the two-way flow of factors between urban and rural areas by relying solely on the market mechanism, and the guidance of relevant government policies and measures is needed. These are the basic prerequisites for capital to go to the countryside, talents to go to the countryside, and labor to return. Secondly, policy support and encouragement should be given. As the rate of return on investment in agriculture and rural areas is low, the investment enthusiasm of industrial and commercial capital is not high, so policy support and encouragement are needed after the nesting work is done, such as the use of tax concessions and financial subsidies to narrow or even make up for the gap in the rate of return on their investment in urban industries. Many of the concepts such as special towns have adopted a commercial mode of operation, and they take ecological civilization as their theme, organically combining new urbanization and rural revitalization. Although these commercial modes of operation do not require large amounts of government investment, the government must strengthen its guidance, for example, in terms of policy, they should be in line with national and local policies, in terms of planning, they should be unified with local planning, in terms of theme, they should highlight local characteristics, and in terms of benefits, they should benefit local farmers.

3.2 Urban-rural industrial linkage to promote rural revitalization and human-centered urbanization synergy

After the factors of production have flowed up in both directions between urban and rural industries and farmers, corresponding industries are needed to carry these factors. Therefore, it is important to break the dual structure of industries in cities and agriculture in rural areas as soon as possible and promote the coordinated development of urban and rural industries and farmers. It is difficult to achieve rural revitalization by relying solely on agriculture and rural areas. It is necessary to think beyond the development of agriculture and rural areas, establish the concept of integrated urban-rural development, adhere to urban-rural integration, and optimize the industrial structure of rural areas. In recent years, although farmers’ income has continued to grow faster than urban residents, this growth has mainly relied on wage income rather than household business income, and in terms of structure, the proportion of business income has gradually decreased and the proportion of wage income has gradually increased. This urban-oriented income growth structure, established outside rural agriculture, is unsustainable and easy to lead to further decline in rural areas. Therefore, it is necessary to adhere to the two-wheel-drive of rural revitalization and new urbanization, realize the linkage of urban and rural industries, and promote the integrated development of the three rural industries.

To revitalize the countryside, a prosperous industry is key. To prosper the countryside, we should insist on agricultural development as the foundation, take the primary industry as the axis, connect "two" with "three" and extend the industrial chain. It is necessary to persist in taking agricultural development as the basis. This is not the development of agriculture in the traditional sense, but the construction of modern agricultural industrial system, production system and management system. The modern agricultural industry system has a rich connotation. Firstly, it is based on local characteristics, taking special agriculture as an entry point, transforming resource advantages into product advantages, optimizing the proportional structure of grain, crop, feed and agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, and fishery, expanding the agricultural industry chain, and increasing the effective supply of agricultural products. It is oriented towards "green and prosperous agriculture, quality and efficiency". Secondly, it is necessary to transform agricultural production methods, optimize input factors, improve the scientific and technological content of agricultural production, and raise the level of modern agricultural material and technical equipment. Thirdly, based on improving family contract management, we should not only vigorously cultivate new agricultural business subjects and new professional farmers, but also cultivate new agricultural service subjects, promote the organic connection between small farmers and modern agricultural development, and improve the level of organization, marketization, and socialization of modern agriculture. For the primary industry, the word "characteristics" is emphasized, and agriculture with diverse characteristics should be developed according to local conditions; for the secondary industry, the word "processing" should be highlighted. For the tertiary industry, the word "service" should be highlighted, and agricultural production services should be supported, and new industries and new business models for agricultural services should be developed. It can be seen that the development of the three major industries in rural areas is not isolated and fragmented, but interlinked. Although it is said that rural revitalization is more concerned with the countryside and focuses on the development of primary industries, while new-type urbanization is more concerned with towns and cities and focuses on the development of secondary and tertiary industries, with some focus on the regions and industries, the overall goal of both is the same, and rural revitalization cannot be separated from new-type urbanization, and new-type urbanization cannot be separated from rural revitalization. The key to the integrated development of urban and rural areas is the linkage of urban and rural industries, and through the primary industry, the linkage of "two" to "three" to achieve the deep integration of one, two, and three industries. To this end, it is necessary to strengthen new industries and new business models, cultivate diversified subjects for the integration of the three industries, innovate new models for the integration of the three industries in rural areas, improve the mechanism for linking the interests of the integration of the three industries in rural areas, and optimize the policy system to support the integration of rural industries.

3.3 Synergy between county-led rural revitalization and human-centered urbanization in a comprehensive manner

In the

Book

of

History

, it is said that if counties are integrated into counties, and if counties are integrated into the world, the world will be governed. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that if a country is compared to a net, counties are like the "knots" in this net. If the knots are loose, the political situation of the country will be in turmoil; if the knots are strong, the political situation of the country will be stable. The country’s decrees and ordinances are always implemented through the counties. The county is the largest village and the smallest city, and the county is both the head of the countryside and the tail of the city, bearing the top and the bottom, with the closest connection to the "three rural areas" and the most obvious radiation-driven effect. The 14Five-Year Plan proposes that we should promote the urbanization of counties as an important carrier. For farmers, counties are the closest places to urban life and can provide basic services for farmers’ production and basic needs. The development of county economies is essential for promoting the local urbanization of the migrant agricultural population, enhancing the ability of urban areas to drive the countryside, implementing rural revitalization, absorbing the migrant agricultural population, relieving the pressure on large and medium-sized cities, realizing the "urban pattern of coordinated development of large, medium, small and medium-sized cities and small towns with urban clusters as the mainstay" proposed in the 19Party Congress report, and effectively cracking the issues concerning agriculture, countryside and farmers. It is of great significance to effectively solve the issues concerning agriculture, countryside and farmers.In the end, the integrated development of urban and rural areas is the integrated development of counties and rural areas. Whether it is the

Strategic

Plan

for

Rural

Revitalization

(

2018-2022

) or the 14Five-Year Plan, both of them emphasize taking counties as units, strengthening the guiding and constraining roles of county spatial planning and various special planning, coordinating the rural planning work, and scientifically arranging the layout of counties and rural areas. Relying on counties to form clusters of agricultural product processing industries, the industrial chain is kept in counties as far as possible, and counties are supported to develop deep processing of agricultural products and build several agricultural product professional villages and towns and strong processing counties. It can thus be seen that counties play a vital role in promoting the integrated development of urban and rural areas, leading the integration of the three rural industries and realizing the two-wheel drive of rural revitalization and new urbanization. Therefore, we should take green development as the guide, optimize the business environment of the county economy and do a good job in attracting investment; coordinate county and rural planning, optimize the layout of county industrial development, establish leading industries and extend leading industrial chains; make use of local conditions based on the advantages of the county, make good planning, focus on building one village, one county, and one industry, and cultivate brands of agricultural products; vigorously develop the private economy, stimulate the county’s innovation and entrepreneurial enthusiasm; promote the strategy of promoting talents in line with the principle of not serving everyone, but making good use of the platform, gathering talents and making good use of talents.