A Stable Growth of Income by Chinese Farmers Essential -- By People's Daily Commentator ���� A central task to the whole rural work of China this year is to ensure a stable growth of income by Chinese farmers when a rise of domestic demand is expected in China. This forms the starting point and basis not only for developing farm production and the rural economy but also a rise of rural markets in contributing to a growth in China's domestic demand. ���� In rural China there is a population that accounts for over 70 percent of the Chinese nation. Contrarily, it consumes merely 40 percent less of the country's retail consumer goods. Moreover, wider gaps are being found between town and country. By statistics, consumer goods retail sale by counties and down below in 1998 were placed at a 0.7 percentage point less than cities in 1998 to show a consumer proportion of 38.7 percent of the nation's. Data prove marked disparities found between town and country both in consumption amount and the mix of consumer goods ���� Nonetheless, great potentialities exist in rural China. To tap the potentialities will surely stimulate a big growth of the Chinese economy. By estimates of experts, when a 50 percent of national consumer goods should be shared by the rural areas with Chinese cities as back in the years of the 7th Five-year Plan period there will be a growth of about 350 billion yuan worth of consumer retail sale in China. This shows the great necessity for tapping the potentialities of rural markets and a growth of income by Chinese farmers, an urgent task to be put on agenda in China. It calls for all possible efforts that have to be made and means to be used by relevant departments at various levels and in localities to strive for a stable growth of income by farmers throughout China. ���� Firm measures need to be taken and various means have to be used for a lightening of the economic burden on farmers. All agricultural taxes and various possible fees and taxes on farm produce should be collected according to law. All related policies centrally promulgated should be strictly followed. Acting to rules and regulations set by the Party Central Committee and the State Council, fee collection by townships this year should be strictly placed at a level not surpassing 1997 in the way a sundry of illegal fees is to be ruled out. ���� As things stand in rural China, the Chinese economy has been developed to a new stage. From being a scarcity economy over a long period in the past it has come to become a basically balanced one as a whole, with some surplus during a bumper year, and an economy with a multiple variety and of high quality being developed. With this there is every necessity for efforts to be made for a restructuring and optimizing the structure of agricultural production for high yields and increased income by farmers throughout China. ���� The last few years have seen a vigorous development of industrialization in agricultural production and new ties that have been found by the Chinese farmers to link up their production with the country's development of markets. Practice shows that it is an effective and practical way to raise the income of the Chinese farmers. Continued efforts should be made to that end for an all-round development of various productive lines and see to it construction of production bases be carried out, added-value farm produce processing developed and increased benefit gained by the Chinese farmers. Due attention should also be paid to the development of country-based enterprises and expediting the construction of small-type townships and cities in rural China. ���� Meanwhile efforts must be made to step up the reconstruction of rural power grids and for a cut of power price in rural areas in the interest of farm production. And as a part of the country's rural work; scientific knowledge and new technologies need to be popularized on a nationwide scale, conditions be improved to further develop farm production, 10 million poor people be helped out of poverty this year. ���� To work for a growth of income by the Chinese farmers is of great importance to the development of the Chinese economy. Though difficulties exist yet we are still favored by various conditions to bring about a rise in the income of the Chinese farmers. As things are required from a strategic height we must see to it that vigorous measures be adopted and means used to guarantee a stable growth in income by the Chinese farmers as a whole in China. Economicnews 1999-08-02 Page2 Full Story in Chinese