Only with a prosperous agriculture will we have a solid foundation for overall development. Only with farmers becoming well off will we realize real nationwide prosperity. And only with a stable countryside will we be able to establish a truly harmonious society.

Nothing better describes the impact of agriculture, farmers and countryside on China's future than these three "onlys".

That they appear in a document jointly released on Monday by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the State Council suggests the top authorities' utmost concern in building a new countryside.

This is the fourth consecutive year that the CPC Central Committee and the State Council have jointly issued a document elaborating on specifics for pushing the development of agriculture and rural life.

The 2004 document called for efforts to increase farmers' income to close the ever-widening gap between urbanites and rural residents. The second document in 2005 required further increase of farmers' income and grain output. The third document called for the building of a rural democratic political system.

As a result, the agricultural tax was canceled in 2005 and efforts are under way to abolish fees for all rural students' nine-year compulsory education.

The latest document stresses the development of modern agriculture as key to developing a new socialist countryside.

Modern methods can increase agricultural output, improve utilization of resources and increase farmers' expertise along with their income.

To realize these goals, governments at all levels are required to shift the bulk of their investment into rural infrastructure and social development. The increased financial input in education, healthcare and culture should be primarily spent in improving the quality of life for rural residents, according to the document.

From the tasks the central authorities have set for local governments, it is not difficult to get the message that fundamentally changing the outlook of rural residents and agriculture has a significant bearing on the nation's overall progress.

Local governments must work to make the message a reality.

(China Daily January 31, 2007)