Coordinated Promotion of New-type Urbanization and Comprehensive Rural Revitalization

Urban-rural integrated development is an inevitable requirement of Chinese-path modernization, and the transformation of the urban-rural structure bears on the degree to which China’s overall modernization is advanced. The 2024 Central Economic Work Conference proposed “coordinated promotion of new-type urbanization and comprehensive rural revitalization to facilitate urban-rural integrated development,” [1]1 The Central Economic Work Conference is an annual high-level meeting convened by the Chinese Communist Party to set economic policy priorities for the following year. clarifying key tasks in such areas as cultivated land management, stable agricultural production, food security, farmers’ income growth, urban governance, and county-level economic development, reflecting an important operational logic that emphasizes simultaneous effort in both cities and the countryside and strengthens coordination between the two. The 2025 No. 1 Central Document once again stressed “adhering to urban-rural integrated development.” [2]2 The annual No. 1 Central Document is the first policy statement issued by the Central Committee of the CPC, which for many years has focused on agricultural and rural issues. Coordinated promotion of new-type urbanization and comprehensive rural revitalization is a systematic project; in practice, it is necessary to deeply grasp the connotation and pathways of “coordinated promotion” from the perspectives of industrial layout, factor allocation, spatial planning, public goods allocation, development evaluation methods, and institutional mechanism reform between urban and rural areas.

城乡融合发展是中国式现代化的必然要求，城乡结构的转变关系着我国整体现代化的推进程度。2024年中央经济工作会议提出“统筹推进新型城镇化和乡村全面振兴，促进城乡融合发展”，明确了耕地管理、农产品稳产、粮食安全、农民增收、城市治理、县域经济发展等方面的重点任务，体现出强调城乡两端发力、增强城乡两方面协同的重要推进逻辑。2025年中央一号文件再次强调“坚持城乡融合发展”。统筹推进新型城镇化和乡村全面振兴是一项系统工程，在实践当中，需要从城乡之间的产业布局、要素配置、空间规划、公共产品配置、发展评价方式、体制机制改革等层面深刻把握“统筹推进”的内涵和路径。

First, coordinate industrial layout to consolidate the economic foundation of urban-rural integrated development. For a long time, the basic pattern of China’s urban-rural industrial distribution has been: primary industries mainly in the countryside, secondary and tertiary industries mainly in cities, with a clear boundary between urban and rural industrial distribution. On the new journey, to promote urban-rural integrated development, we must re-examine the distribution of industries between urban and rural areas based on Chinese-path modernization and high-quality development, taking into comprehensive consideration the industrial linkages between urban and rural areas. [3]3 “New journey” refers to the new stage of building a modern socialist country in all respects after achieving the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects. This is concentrated in three aspects: first, achieving food security is of utmost importance, and ensuring stable production and supply of grain and other important agricultural products is a major task of rural revitalization. Under the ongoing non-agriculturalization of the rural labor force, the development of primary industries must break through sectoral boundaries, emphasize urban-rural interaction, actively introduce modern urban factors, focus on technological progress, and strive to improve the comprehensive benefits and competitiveness of agriculture. Second, the countryside has resource advantages in nature, ecology, culture, and history. To promote the development of rural industries, we should base ourselves on the transformation of the consumption structure of urban and rural residents, quickly convert rural resource advantages into market advantages, continuously cultivate new rural industries and new business forms that meet the new demands of urban and rural residents, and achieve diversification of rural industrial forms and diversification of farmers’ income sources. Finally, the vast countryside provides a huge market and broad application scenarios for urban-rural industrial development. To promote urban-rural industrial integrated development, we must highlight the market contribution of the countryside, closely connect urban industries with rural demands, and guide urban industries to assist in the transformation of traditional rural industries and the development of emerging industries.

一是统筹产业布局，夯实城乡融合发展的经济基础。长期以来，我国城乡产业分布的基本格局是：第一产业主要分布在乡村，第二、三产业主要分布在城市，城乡之间的产业分布存在清晰的边界。新征程上，促进城乡融合发展，必须立足中国式现代化和高质量发展来重新理解城乡之间的产业分布，通盘考虑城乡之间的产业关联。这集中体现在三个方面：首先，实现粮食安全目标至关重要，抓好粮食和重要农产品稳产保供是乡村振兴的重要任务。在农村劳动力持续非农化的情形下，第一产业的发展必须打破部门边界，重视城乡互动，积极引入城市现代要素，注重技术进步，努力提高农业的综合效益和竞争力。其次，乡村具有自然、生态、文化、历史等资源优势，推动乡村产业发展，应立足城乡居民消费结构的转变，将乡村资源优势尽快转化为市场优势，不断培育契合城乡居民新需求的乡村新产业新业态，实现乡村产业形态的多样化和农民收入来源的多元化。最后，广袤的乡村为城乡产业发展提供了巨大市场和广阔应用场景，推进城乡产业融合发展必须凸显乡村的市场贡献，使城市产业紧密地与乡村需求相对接，引导城市产业助推乡村传统产业改造和新兴产业发展。

Second, coordinate factor allocation to stimulate the market vitality of urban-rural integrated development. The equal exchange, two-way flow, and efficient allocation of various factors between urban and rural areas are the inherent requirements and key content of coordinating new-type urbanization and rural revitalization. To this end, we should accelerate the market-oriented reform of urban-rural factors, reduce the institutional and technical transaction costs of factor flows, let the market play the decisive role in resource allocation, and better play the role of government, thereby generating ample market vitality for urban-rural integrated development. In particular, with a focus on promoting the full integration of migrant workers into cities, we should push forward the non-agriculturalization of the rural labor force. Deepen the reform of the “three rights separation” of rural land, improve the price formation mechanism for the transfer of contracted land management rights, prudently advance the reform of rural homestead systems, orderly advance the reform for rural collective operational construction land to enter the market, and increase the efficiency of land factor allocation between urban and rural areas. [4]4 “Three rights separation” reform separates rural land ownership (collective), contract rights (farmer households), and management rights (actual cultivators or enterprises). Strengthen the construction of rural commercial networks, guide industrial and commercial capital to connect with rural resources, and use inclusive finance, green finance, and other methods to empower the development of rural industries. Fully utilize digital technology to promote the development of rural business forms such as e-commerce going to the countryside, “Internet + agriculture,” and smart farms, continuously amplifying the positive role of digital technology in linking urban and rural factor markets.

二是统筹要素配置，激发城乡融合发展的市场活力。各类要素在城乡之间平等交换、双向流动、高效配置，是统筹推进新型城镇化和乡村振兴的内在要求和关键内容。为此，应加快推进城乡要素市场化改革，降低要素流动的制度性、技术性交易成本，发挥市场在资源配置中的决定性作用，更好发挥政府作用，以此形成城乡融合发展的充沛市场活力。特别是，以促进进城务工人员全面融入城市为重点，推动农村劳动力非农化。深入推进农村土地“三权分置”改革，完善承包地经营权流转价格形成机制，稳慎推进农村宅基地制度改革，有序推进农村集体经营性建设用地入市改革，提高土地要素在城乡之间的配置效率。加强农村商业网络建设，引导工商资本与乡村资源对接，采用普惠金融、绿色金融等方式赋能乡村产业发展。充分利用数字技术，推动电商下乡、“互联网+农业”、智慧农场等乡村业态发展，持续放大数字化技术在链接城乡要素市场中的积极作用。

Third, coordinate spatial planning to improve the geographical pattern of urban-rural integrated development. Cities and the countryside are regional complexes with multiple functions. Based on new trends in industrial distribution and factor allocation, we should take comprehensive consideration of urban and rural spatial planning and promote the transformation of the urban-rural geographical pattern from a dual structure of “either city or countryside, sharply demarcated” to an integrated state of “both city and countryside, interwoven and embedded.” To this end, in the process of promoting new-type urbanization, it is necessary to clarify that urbanization is a process of structural transformation that includes different types of cities and towns. For specific regions, layout should be based on the concept of city clusters and metropolitan circles—i.e., the functional division of labor and coordinated combination of large, medium, and small cities and small towns; [5]5 “City clusters” (城市群) and “metropolitan circles” (都市圈) are spatial planning concepts for grouping cities of different sizes to promote coordinated development and division of labor. for specific cities, it is necessary to more prominently highlight the radiating and linking features of city centers, sub-centers, new districts, and central towns. In the process of promoting comprehensive rural revitalization, the rural population is showing a trend of agglomeration toward county seats and central towns, and farmers’ urbanization in other places and local urbanization are occurring simultaneously. Therefore, we must raise the level of integration in urban-rural planning, construction, and governance, more prominently highlight the hub status of county seats and central towns in county-level development within spatial planning, regard county seats and central towns as the main “continuum” from city to countryside, allocate public resources based on population agglomeration trends and geographic spatial evolution, and better leverage the radiating and driving functions of county seats and central towns for villages.

三是统筹空间规划，完善城乡融合发展的地理格局。城市和乡村是具有多重功能的地域综合体，应立足产业分布和要素配置的新趋势，通盘考虑城乡空间规划，推动城乡地理格局从“非城即乡、泾渭分明”的二元结构转向“亦城亦乡、交错嵌入”的融合状态。为此，在推进新型城镇化进程中，需要明确城镇化是包括不同类型城镇在内的结构转型过程。就特定地区而言，应基于城市群、都市圈理念——即大中小城市和小城镇的功能分工、协同组合进行布局；就特定城市而言，需要更加凸显城市中心区、城市副中心、新城、中心镇的辐射链接特征。在推进乡村全面振兴进程中，农村人口出现向县城、中心镇的集聚趋势，农民的异地城市化和本地城镇化在同时发生。为此，必须提高城乡规划、建设、治理融合水平，在空间规划中更加突出县城、中心镇的县域发展枢纽地位，将县城、中心镇视为从城到乡的主要“连续体”，依据人口集聚趋势和地理空间演变进行公共资源配置，更好发挥县城、中心镇对村庄的辐射带动功能。

Fourth, coordinate public goods allocation to give play to the common prosperity effect of urban-rural integrated development. Imbalance in urban-rural development is manifested in many aspects, including the imbalance in the allocation of public goods, especially basic public goods, between urban and rural areas. Coordinated promotion of new-type urbanization and comprehensive rural revitalization requires coordinating the allocation of public goods, targeting goals such as inclusiveness and integration to advance related institutional changes, continuously narrowing the gap between urban and rural residents in access to public goods, and enabling urban and rural residents to share development achievements more equally. In accordance with the principle of prioritizing agricultural and rural development, we should further increase support for productive and livelihood-related public goods in the countryside, especially continuously raising the level of fiscal expenditure on public services such as education, healthcare, and elderly care in rural areas. On the basis of universal compulsory education, increase fiscal investment in rural vocational education to continuously improve the human capital level of various rural labor forces. Guided by the goal of accelerating the narrowing of the urban-rural social security gap, increase fiscal guarantees for rural residents’ medical care and elderly care year by year. Accelerate the process of citizenization of agricultural transfer population, highlighting the people-centered value orientation of new-type urbanization. [6]6 “Citizenization of agricultural transfer population” (农业转移人口市民化) refers to granting rural migrants who work in cities full urban household registration status with equal access to public services.

四是统筹公共产品配置，发挥城乡融合发展的共富效应。城乡发展不平衡表现在多个方面，其中就包括城乡公共产品、特别是基本公共产品配置的不平衡。统筹推进新型城镇化和乡村全面振兴，必须统筹公共产品配置，瞄准普惠性、一体化等目标推进相关制度变革，持续缩小城乡居民在公共产品获取中的落差，促使城乡居民更为均等地分享发展成果。按照农业农村优先发展原则，进一步加大对乡村生产性、生活性公共产品的支持力度，特别是持续提高对乡村教育、医疗、养老等公共服务的财政支出水平。在普及义务教育基础上，加大对乡村职业教育财政投入程度，不断提高乡村各类劳动力的人力资本水平。以加快缩小城乡社会保障差距为导向，逐年加大对农村居民的医疗、养老财政保障力度。加快推进农业转移人口市民化进程，凸显新型城镇化以人为核心的价值取向。

Fifth, coordinate development evaluation methods to raise the incentive level for urban-rural integrated development. To advance urban-rural integrated development, we should fully and accurately view the value of the countryside in the context of the New Era, highlight the production, livelihood, ecological, and cultural functions of the countryside, and must not ignore the development of agriculture and rural areas because the share of primary industries in GDP is declining. Rural revitalization concerns China’s food security; we must strictly implement the cultivated land protection system, improve the price support and fiscal subsidy systems for agricultural products, and provide sufficient incentives for grain farmers and major grain-producing areas. Improve the incentive and constraint mechanisms for promoting high-quality development, and more prominently highlight the weight of indicators related to agricultural and rural modernization and urban-rural integrated development in the performance assessment system for local governments. [7]7 The local government performance assessment system (地方政府绩效考核体系) is a structured method for evaluating the performance of local officials, which influences their career advancement. In addition, the cross-urban-rural flow of the rural population is often accompanied by cross-regional movement; we should establish a coordination mechanism between the allocation of new urban construction land indicators and the increase in the permanent resident population, and enhance the enthusiasm and initiative of local governments in coordinating the promotion of new-type urbanization and comprehensive rural revitalization.

五是统筹发展评价方式，提升城乡融合发展的激励水平。推进城乡融合发展，应完整准确看待新时代背景下的乡村价值，凸显乡村的生产、生活、生态、文化功能，不能因第一产业在GDP中的占比下降而忽视农业农村的发展。乡村振兴关系我国的粮食安全，必须严格落实耕地保护制度，完善农产品价格保护和财政补贴制度，为种粮农民和粮食主产区提供充分激励。完善推动高质量发展激励约束机制，在地方政府绩效考核体系中更加凸显农业农村现代化、城乡融合发展相关指标的权重。此外，农村人口跨城乡流转往往伴随着跨地区流动，应建立新增城镇建设用地指标配置同常住人口增加协调机制，提高地方政府在统筹推进新型城镇化和乡村全面振兴中的积极性、主动性。

Sixth, coordinate institutional mechanism reform to strengthen the institutional guarantee for urban-rural integrated development. Coordinated promotion of new-type urbanization and comprehensive rural revitalization must focus on the combination and coordination of different institutional changes, including emphasizing the two-way opening of cities and the countryside, paying attention to the synergy of reform of the household registration system, land system, and social security system, and providing a more solid institutional guarantee for urban-rural integrated development. It is obvious that the role of any single institutional change in China’s coordinated promotion of new-type urbanization and comprehensive rural revitalization is limited; we must give play to the synergistic effect of reform, rely on the mutual coordination and systematic integration of multiple institutional reforms, and gather abundant momentum to push urban-rural integrated development to a new level. In advancing comprehensive rural revitalization, we should promote reform of the agricultural land property rights system in line with the principle of protecting farmers’ interests and expanding their rights, realize the reallocation of rural residents’ labor and land in deepening the “three rights separation” of agricultural land, encourage urban capital, technology, management, data, and other modern factors to enter the countryside, and achieve a broader scope of opening of the countryside to the city. Enhance the employment creation capacity of urban sectors and promote deeper opening of cities to the countryside.

六是统筹体制机制改革，强化城乡融合发展的制度保障。统筹推进新型城镇化和乡村全面振兴，必须注重不同制度变革之间的组合与协调，包括重视城市和乡村的双向开放，关注户籍制度、土地制度、社会保障制度变革的协同性，为城乡融合发展提供更为坚实的制度保障。显而易见，我国统筹推进新型城镇化和乡村全面振兴，单一制度变革的作用是有限的，必须发挥改革的协同效应，依靠多项制度改革的相互协同和系统集成，汇聚推进城乡融合发展再上新台阶的充沛动能。在推进乡村全面振兴中，按照保障农民利益、拓展农民权利的原则推进农地产权制度改革，在深化农地“三权分置”中实现农村居民劳动力、土地再配置，激励城市资本、技术、管理、数据等现代要素进入乡村，实现乡村向城市的更广范围开放。提高城市部门的就业创造能力，推动城市向乡村的更深程度开放。

(The author: Gao Fan, is a Distinguished Researcher at the Shanghai Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and Professor at the School of Economics, Fudan University)

（作者：高帆，系上海市习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想研究中心特聘研究员、复旦大学经济学院教授）

(Online editor: Huihui)

网络编辑：慧慧