Time to repay the historical debt cities owe to the countryside

THE DECISION made at the just-concluded 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China to revitalize the countryside marks a turning point to reverse the decline of rural areas in China as a result of its city-centered industrialization and urbanization. Beijing Youth Daily comments:

The authorities should first of all face up squarely to the problems confronting the countryside. Although the incomes of rural residents have grown faster than the incomes of urban residents, there is still a large gap between them in favor of the latter, as well as among different regions. For instance, the average disposable income in Shanghai is nearly eight times that of the farmers in Northwest China's Gansu province.

The comparative poverty of rural areas in terms of income, public services, social security and development opportunities, especially the remote inland regions, constitute the biggest obstacle hindering the revitalization of the countryside.