The “Key Points of Digital Rural Development in 2023” was jointly issued by the Central Network Information Office, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and the National Rural Revitalisation Bureau.
The goal is to empower rural industries and rural areas through digitalisation, driving the modernisation of agriculture and rural areas, promoting common prosperity for rural farmers, and achieving new progress in building a strong agricultural country and a digitally advanced China.
The “Work Points” outline the work goals to be achieved by the end of 2023. These include making staged progress in the development of digital villages, providing stronger support for national food security and consolidating the achievements of poverty alleviation through digital technology.
The targets also include exceeding 190 million rural broadband access users, achieving basic coverage of 5G networks in areas above the township level and qualified administrative villages, reaching a 26.5% informatisation rate of agricultural production, and exceeding 580 billion yuan in retail sales of agricultural products through e-commerce networks.
The establishment and rating of new agricultural business entities are also aimed to cover all aspects. Furthermore, the level of digitalisation in rural governance is expected to steadily improve, with the continued deepening of rural digital inclusive services, improvement in farmers’ digital literacy and skills, and more prominent results from digital village pilots.
The “Work Points” also highlight 26 key tasks in 10 areas. These include consolidating the foundation for rural digital development through improving rural network infrastructure, optimising and upgrading rural infrastructure, and promoting the sharing of agricultural data resources. Strengthening the digital protection of food security is also emphasised, with a focus on promoting the digital transformation of the entire food industry chain.
Enhancing the effectiveness of online assistance is another key task, with a focus on dynamic monitoring and assistance to prevent a return to poverty and promote the endogenous development momentum of poverty-stricken areas. Developing smart agriculture according to local conditions is also highlighted, including accelerating the digital transformation of the entire agricultural industry chain and strengthening support for agricultural technology and intelligent equipment.
In addition, the “Work Points” also emphasise the development of the county-level digital economy through upgrading rural e-commerce, cultivating and expanding new business models in rural areas, and deepening rural digital financial inclusive services. Innovation and development of rural digital culture are also emphasised, including creating an environment for the prosperity and development of rural network culture and promoting the digitisation of rural cultural relics resources.
Improving the digital level of rural governance is another key task, with a focus on strengthening the informatisation construction of rural party affairs, government affairs, and village affairs, upgrading the rural smart emergency management system and expanding the digital capabilities of comprehensive rural social government.
Also, the “Work Points” highlight the need to deepen rural digital inclusive services, including promoting “Internet + education” and “Internet + medical health”, as well as deepening rural employment and social security information services.
Accelerating the construction of smart green villages is also emphasised, including promoting the digital supervision of rural human settlements and improving the informatisation level of rural ecological protection. Finally, ensuring the high-quality development of digital villages is emphasised through strengthening policy support, talent support, standardisation construction, and overall coordination.
