China is restructuring its rural financial system in order to promote sustainable economic development in the countryside, officials said over the weekend in Beijing.

In his meeting with delegates attending a gathering of the Asian and Pacific Regional Agricultural Credit Association (APRACA), Vice-Premier Huang Ju said China values the experience of other countries in agricultural credit.

China can draw useful lessons from the wealth of experience APRACA has accumulated in managing and serving rural financial institutions, to help avert financial risks and improve efficiency, Vice-Minister of Finance Liao Xiaojun said at APRACA's 14th General Assembly that opened on Friday.

The conference ended Sunday in Beijing.

China's State budget has supported construction of agriculture infrastructure by issuing long-term treasury bonds and increasing input into rural production, poverty alleviation and overall agricultural growth, Liao said.

The country's rural financial institutions will receive more financial support, in addition to enjoying favorable policies including credit subsidies and preferential taxation, so that they will in turn increase their financial input into the agricultural sector, he said.

Ultimately, China expects to establish an orderly rural financial system with a rational and efficient operation mechanism, that will help sustain rural economic and social development, Liao said.

Margarito Bustalino Teves, chairman of APRACA, said by helping rural finance and agricultural credit to prosper, APRACA will continue to create an environment in which the rural poor can improve productivity and increase their income.

APRACA will spearhead work to promote the efficiency and effectiveness of rural financial systems, he said.

Based in Bangkok, Thailand, APRACA was established in 1977 with the support of the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations.

(China Daily September 29, 2003)