All-around rural revitalization vital for developed and previously impoverished regions: expert

The all-around rural revitalization is crucial for both developed regions and those that have shaken off poverty, with new growth drivers emerging for rural areas, said an expert when interpreting the annual central rural work conference held in Beijing from Tuesday to Wednesday.

The conference emphasized the need to learn from and apply the experience from the Green Rural Revival Program to advance rural revitalization in all respects.

In June 2003, east China's Zhejiang Province launched the Green Rural Revival Program, which plans to renovate about 10,000 incorporated villages and transform about 1,000 central villages among them into examples of moderate prosperity in all respects.

Ye Xingqing, a senior researcher at the Development Research Center of the State Council, said all-around rural revitalization can be comprehended from various dimensions.

First, the revitalization encompasses various aspects such as economic, political, social, cultural, and ecological development, along with Party building. Second, the measures to promote rural revitalization are also comprehensive, including revitalization in industries, organizations, talents, ecology, and culture, according to the expert.

"An important element of all-around rural revitalization is that, in terms of regions, both developed regions and those pulled out of poverty are faced with the new task of rural revitalization. Especially in regions lifted out of poverty, it is essential to align efforts to consolidate achievements in the battle against poverty with those to promote all-around rural revitalization," Ye said.

As the focus of work related to agriculture, rural areas, and rural residents shifts towards promoting all-around rural revitalization, a series of new changes has taken place in China's agriculture and rural areas in recent years, and new growth drivers for rural areas are gradually taking shape.

"This includes new business models, such as the use of digital and smart technologies to transform traditional industries, which many regions are embracing. There have also been new developments in boosting rural consumption and investment markets. For instance, in the first to third quarters of 2024, retail sales of consumer goods in rural areas have shown a growth rate surpassing that of urban areas," Ye said.

All-around rural revitalization vital for developed and previously impoverished regions: expert

The first regular international flight linking Uzbekistan's capital city Tashkent and Sanya, a popular tourism destination in south China's tropical island province of Hainan, landed early on Thursday morning.

Among all the travelers, there are more than 30 tourism professionals and tourism business runners from Uzbekistan, who will participate in a series of welcome and inspection activities organized by the route operator.

As scheduled, the Tashkent-Sanya flight operates once a week at the initial stage, and will operate twice a week after the end of January 2025.

China and Uzbekistan have signed an agreement on a 30-day mutual visa exemption on Dec. 1 to boost exchanges in the tourism sector, and the operation of regular flight between the two countries is expected to further boost the tourism exchanges between China and Uzbekistan.

China announced a significant relaxation of its visa-free transit policy on Dec. 17, extending the permitted stay for eligible foreign travelers from the original 72 and 144 hours to 240 hours, or 10 days.

Effective immediately, 21 additional ports in China, including Haikou Meilan International Airport, and Sanya Phoenix International Airport, have been designated for visa-free entry and exit, and the areas in which transit travelers can stay have been expanded, according to a statement from National Immigration Administration of China.

First regular international flight linking Tashkent, Sanya lands