China issues guideline to boost rural industries

BEIJING - China has issued a guideline to boost rural industries in a bid to vitalize the country's vast countryside.

Rural areas should seek integration of the development of agriculture, industry and the tertiary sector, whose added value should enjoy a significant rise in its share of township GDP within five to ten years, according to the guideline released by the State Council.

The industry and service sectors based on rural and agricultural resources should be kept in rural areas as much as possible, the guideline said.

Efforts should be made to strengthen local industries such as produce processing and rural tourism, promote town-level industrial clusters, nurture more agricultural brands and improve policy support, according to the guideline.

China proposed the strategy of rural vitalization in 2017 to benefit the development of agriculture, enrich rural areas and improve farmers' lives.