The Fundamental Guiding Principle for Advancing Urban-Rural Integrated Development in the New Era

Urban-rural integrated development is an inevitable requirement of Chinese-path modernization. General Secretary Xi Jinping has always attached great importance to urban-rural integrated development, delivering a series of important expositions that profoundly reveal the trends and laws of urban-rural change and scientifically clarify the goals, directions, and practical pathways of urban-rural integrated development. As an important component of Xi Jinping’s economic thought, these important expositions on urban-rural integrated development are rich in content and systematic in structure; they innovatively develop the Marxist theory of urban-rural relations, possess distinct innovativeness and contemporaneity, serve as the fundamental guiding principle for advancing urban-rural integrated development in the New Era, and point the correct direction for exploring a path of urban-rural integrated development with Chinese characteristics.

城乡融合发展是中国式现代化的必然要求。习近平总书记历来高度重视城乡融合发展，作出一系列重要论述，深刻揭示了城乡变化趋势和发展规律，科学阐明了城乡融合发展的目标方向和实践路径。作为习近平经济思想的重要组成部分，习近平总书记关于城乡融合发展的重要论述内容丰富、体系完整，创新发展了马克思主义城乡关系理论，具有鲜明的创新性和时代性，是新时代推进城乡融合发展的根本遵循，为探索中国特色城乡融合发展之路指明了正确方向。

Profoundly Revealing the Trends and Laws of Urban-Rural Change

深刻揭示城乡变化趋势和发展规律

Cities are spatial forms of territory where population and non-agricultural industries agglomerate and reach a certain scale, while villages refer to territorial complexes outside urban built-up areas that possess natural, social, and economic characteristics as well as multiple functions such as production, living, ecology, and culture. As two different types of territorial complexes, cities and villages have their own laws of evolution and development. Advancing urban-rural integrated development requires scientifically grasping the trends of urban-rural evolution and recognizing, respecting, and conforming to the laws of urban-rural evolution and development. In his expositions on urban-rural integrated development and on urban and rural development, General Secretary Xi Jinping attaches great importance to respecting objective laws and

城市是人口和非农产业集聚并达到一定规模的地域空间形态，乡村则是指城市建成区以外具有自然、社会、经济特征和生产、生活、生态、文化等多重功能的地域综合体。城市与乡村作为两种不同类型的地域综合体，其演变和发展具有自身的规律性。推进城乡融合发展必须科学把握城乡演变趋势，认识、尊重、顺应城乡演变和发展规律。习近平总书记在关于城乡融合发展以及城市和乡村发展的论述中，高度重视尊重客观规律，从三个方面深刻揭示了城乡演变趋势和发展规律。

First, it profoundly reveals the trend of transformation in the stage of development. Imbalance between urban and rural development is a common problem facing developing countries. China is a developing country, and the problem of urban-rural development imbalance is relatively prominent; this imbalance has been formed by the combined effect of multiple factors over a long historical process. To fundamentally resolve this imbalance, it is necessary to advance the integration of urban and rural development and place greater emphasis on rural development. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that advancing the integration of urban and rural development is an inevitable requirement when industrialization, urbanization, and agricultural modernization reach a certain stage, and it is an important indicator of national modernization. From international experience, as economic and social development progresses, countries have generally undergone a major transformation from dualistic segmentation to urban-rural integration. The Fifth Plenary Session of the Sixteenth Central Committee of the CPC proposed implementing industry’s return to support agriculture and cities’ support for the countryside, and the 18th National Congress of the CPC made promoting urban-rural development integration a major task. In 2015, when presiding over the 22nd collective study session of the Political Bureau of the 18th Central Committee, Xi Jinping made the important judgment that China “has the material and technological conditions to support urban-rural development integration and has reached the development stage of industry returning to support agriculture and cities supporting the countryside.” This judgment aligns with global trends in urban-rural development and China’s actual development situation, laying the foundation for the transformation of China’s urban-rural development policies. Through sustained rapid development since reform and opening up, by 2014 China’s per capita GDP had reached about 7,500 US dollars, the urbanization rate was 54.77%, comprehensive national strength and government fiscal capacity had significantly increased, national general public budget revenue had crossed the 14 trillion yuan threshold, the scale of manufacturing ranked first in the world, and positive progress had been made in agricultural and rural reform and development; the material, organizational, and institutional conditions for advancing urban-rural development integration were already in place.

一是深刻揭示发展阶段转变趋势。城乡发展不平衡是发展中国家普遍面临的问题。中国是一个发展中国家，城乡发展不平衡问题较为突出，这种不平衡是在长期的历史发展过程中由多种因素综合作用形成的。要根本解决这种不平衡问题，必须推进城乡发展一体化，更加重视乡村发展。习近平总书记指出，推进城乡发展一体化，是工业化、城镇化、农业现代化发展到一定阶段的必然要求，是国家现代化的重要标志。从国际经验看，随着经济社会的发展，各国大体经历了从二元分割到城乡一体的重大转变。党的十六届五中全会提出实行工业反哺农业、城市支持农村，党的十八大又将推动城乡发展一体化作为重大任务。2015年，习近平总书记在主持十八届中央政治局第二十二次集体学习时，作出我国“具备了支撑城乡发展一体化物质技术条件，到了工业反哺农业、城市支持农村的发展阶段”的重要判断。这一判断符合世界城乡发展趋势和中国发展实际，为我国城乡发展政策转型奠定了基础。经过改革开放以来的持续快速发展，到2014年我国人均国内生产总值已达到7500美元左右，城镇化率为54.77%，综合国力和政府财力显著增强，全国一般公共财政收入迈上14万亿元台阶，制造业规模位居世界第一，农业农村改革发展也取得积极成效，已经具备推进城乡发展一体化的物质条件、组织条件和制度条件。

Second, it profoundly reveals the laws governing the evolution of urban-rural relations. As urbanization continues to advance, the rural population and non-agricultural industries will continuously concentrate in cities and towns, the proportions of the rural population, employment, and economic output will gradually decline, while the proportions of cities and towns will gradually rise. At the same time, due to differences in functional positioning, cities and the countryside complement each other, promote each other, and coexist symbiotically. However, in previous academic research and practical exploration, this symbiotic coexistence between urban and rural areas was often overlooked, leading some people to simply follow the trend of “cities rising and the countryside declining” and thus neglect or forget the countryside. General Secretary Xi Jinping attaches great importance to the issue of urban-rural development and has systematically summarized the laws governing the evolution of urban-rural relations. In 2018, at the 8th collective study session of the Political Bureau of the 19th Central Committee, Xi Jinping clearly pointed out: “In the process of modernization, the rise of the proportion of cities and the decline of the proportion of the countryside is an objective law, but under the national conditions of China, which has a population of nearly 1.4 billion, no matter how far industrialization and urbanization progress, agriculture must develop, the countryside will not disappear, and urban and rural areas will coexist symbiotically for a long time; this is also an objective law.” This comprehensive and systematic summary fully embodies the dialectical thinking of Marxism, helps to scientifically understand and comprehensively grasp the laws of urban-rural evolution, and eliminates some misunderstandings in people’s thinking. It must be recognized that the countryside bears the heavy responsibility of ensuring food security, ecological security, and the stable and safe supply of agricultural products; rural stability is the foundation of social stability, and comprehensive rural revitalization is the key to national rejuvenation. The importance of the countryside must never be underestimated or denied simply because its proportion declines. As General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “At no time can we neglect agriculture, forget farmers, or disregard the countryside.”

二是深刻揭示城乡关系演变规律。随着城镇化的不断推进，乡村人口和非农产业将不断向城镇集聚，乡村人口、就业和经济总量所占的比重将逐步下降，而城镇所占的比重将逐步提升。同时，城市与乡村因功能定位不同，二者功能互补、互促互进、共生共存。然而，在之前的学术研究和实践探索中，城乡之间这种共生共存关系往往被忽视，以至于有些人单纯根据“城升乡降”趋势而忽视或者遗忘乡村。习近平总书记高度重视城乡发展问题，对城乡关系演变规律进行了系统归纳总结。2018年，在十九届中央政治局第八次集体学习时，习近平总书记明确指出，“在现代化进程中，城的比重上升，乡的比重下降，是客观规律，但在我国拥有近十四亿人口的国情下，不管工业化、城镇化进展到哪一步，农业都要发展，乡村都不会消亡，城乡将长期共生并存，这也是客观规律”。这种全面系统的归纳充分体现了马克思主义的辩证思维，有助于科学认识和全面把握城乡演变规律，消除人们在思想上存在的一些认识误区。需要认识到的是，农村承担着保障粮食安全、生态安全和农产品稳定安全供给的重任，农村稳定是社会稳定的基础，乡村全面振兴是民族复兴的关键，绝不能因为乡的比重下降就看轻甚至否定乡村的重要性。正如习近平总书记所指出的，“任何时候都不能忽视农业、忘记农民、淡漠农村”。

Third, it profoundly reveals the laws of urban and rural development. Both cities and the countryside have their own laws of development. To advance urban-rural integrated development, it is necessary to follow the laws of urban development and the laws of rural development; one cannot simply copy urban practices to promote rural development and construction. However, to date, people’s understanding of the laws of urban and rural development is still insufficient, and some misunderstandings persist, affecting urban and rural development and construction. At the Central Urban Work Conference held at the end of 2015, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized the need to understand, respect, and follow the laws of urban development, and summarized several major laws of urban development. That is, cities and economic development complement and promote each other; urban development is a process in which the rural population concentrates in cities and agricultural land is converted into urban construction land in corresponding proportions; and the scale of cities must be compatible with the carrying capacity of resources and the environment. This scientific summary helps us to correctly understand and systematically grasp the laws of urban development, correct erroneous understandings and unscientific practices in urban development and construction in some localities, and provides theoretical guidance for urban work in the New Era. Rural construction must also follow the laws of urban and rural development and construction. At the Central Rural Work Conference held at the end of 2013, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “As economic and society develop, some villages will gather more population, and some natural villages will gradually disappear; this conforms to the law of village evolution and development.” Following this law of development requires optimizing village layouts in response to trends in urban-rural population changes, rather than mistakenly interpreting the disappearance of some villages in the process of urbanization as the disappearance or decline of the countryside. With the deepening advancement of urbanization, the rural population and the number of villages will continue to decrease; this is a common trend in the evolution of urban-rural patterns across countries during the rapid urbanization stage.

三是深刻揭示城乡发展规律。无论是城市还是乡村，都具有自身的发展规律。推进城乡融合发展，必须遵循城市发展规律和乡村发展规律，不能照搬城市的做法来推进乡村发展建设。然而，迄今为止，人们对城乡发展规律的认识还不够深入，仍存在一些认识误区，影响城乡发展建设。在2015年底召开的中央城市工作会议上，习近平总书记强调要认识、尊重、顺应城市发展规律，并归纳总结了几大城市发展规律。即城市和经济发展两者相辅相成、相互促进，城市发展是农村人口向城市集聚、农业用地按相应规模转化为城市建设用地的过程，城市规模要同资源环境承载能力相适应。这种科学归纳有利于我们正确认识和系统把握城市发展规律，纠正一些地方城市发展建设中存在的错误认识和不科学做法，为新时代做好城市工作提供了理论遵循。乡村建设同样要遵循城乡发展建设规律。在2013年底召开的中央农村工作会议上，习近平总书记指出：“随着经济社会发展，一些村落会集聚更多人口，一些自然村落会逐步消亡，这符合村庄演进发展规律。”遵循这一发展规律，就需要适应城乡人口变化趋势优化村庄布局，而不能把城镇化过程中一些村庄的消亡错误理解为乡村的消亡或者衰落。伴随着城镇化的深入推进，乡村人口和村庄数量将会持续减少，这是城镇化快速推进阶段各国城乡格局演变的普遍趋势。

Scientifically elucidating the goals and direction of urban-rural integrated development

科学阐明城乡融合发展的目标方向

Since the beginning of the new century, the conceptual expression of China’s urban-rural development policies has changed. The report to the 16th National Congress of the CPC proposed coordinating urban and rural economic and social development; the report to the 17th National Congress proposed integrating urban and rural economic and social development; the report to the 18th National Congress proposed urban-rural development integration; and the reports to the 19th and 20th National Congresses emphasized urban-rural integrated development. From coordinating urban and rural economic and social development to urban-rural development integration and then to urban-rural integrated development, this reflects both the continuity of central policies and the adaptation to new circumstances by advancing with the times. Coordinating urban and rural development emphasizes the government’s coordinating role, but relying solely on government coordination makes it difficult to achieve urban-rural integrated development and integration; it is also necessary to better leverage the role of market mechanisms. Urban-rural development integration emphasizes the goal of integration, while urban-rural integrated development emphasizes two-way integration, interaction, and joint construction and sharing; the two are consistent in development philosophy and goal orientation. Overall, urban-rural integrated development is a broader concept with more inclusive connotations, capable of covering all aspects of coordinating urban and rural development and urban-rural development integration. General Secretary Xi Jinping has always placed the people highest in his heart, and in a series of important expositions, he has scientifically elucidated the goal system and main direction of urban-rural integrated development, focusing on comprehensively raising the level of urban-rural integrated development.

进入新世纪以来，我国城乡发展政策在概念表达上发生了变化。党的十六大报告提出统筹城乡经济社会发展，党的十七大报告提出城乡经济社会发展一体化，党的十八大报告提出城乡发展一体化，党的十九大报告和党的二十大报告则强调城乡融合发展。从统筹城乡经济社会发展到城乡发展一体化再到城乡融合发展，既反映了中央政策的一脉相承，又体现了适应新形势的与时俱进。统筹城乡发展突出政府的统筹作用，但仅依靠政府统筹，难以实现城乡融合发展和一体化，还需要更好发挥市场机制的作用。城乡发展一体化强调一体化目标，城乡融合发展强调双向融合互动和共建共享，二者在发展理念和目标导向上是一致的。总体上看，城乡融合发展是一个更广泛的概念，其内涵更具包容性，可以涵盖统筹城乡发展和城乡发展一体化的各个方面。习近平总书记始终把人民放在心中最高位置，在一系列重要论述中科学阐明了城乡融合发展的目标体系和主攻方向，注重全面提高城乡融合发展水平。

First, it embodies the people-centered development philosophy. Urban-rural integrated development is a powerful lever for resolving the imbalance between urban and rural development. Its value orientation is to adhere to a people-centered approach, enabling the broad masses of the people to share in the fruits of reform and development and to achieve the free and comprehensive development of the individual. Advancing urban-rural integrated development means, on the basis of upholding urban-rural openness and equal status, gradually narrowing the urban-rural gap through the sharing of resources, development opportunities, public services, and development outcomes, thereby realizing universal urban-rural prosperity and common prosperity. This kind of urban-rural shared development not only embodies the essential requirements of socialism with Chinese characteristics but is also an important feature of urban-rural integrated development. General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly stressed the need to “enable the broad masses of farmers to participate equally in the process of reform and development and jointly enjoy the fruits of reform and development,” and proposed “making industry’s support for agriculture and cities’ support for rural areas a long-term policy,” fully reflecting the people-centered development philosophy and the requirements for achieving common prosperity.

一是体现以人民为中心的发展思想。城乡融合发展是破解城乡发展不平衡的有力抓手，其价值取向是坚持以人民为中心，让广大人民共享改革发展成果，实现人的自由全面发展。推进城乡融合发展，就是要在坚持城乡开放和地位平等的基础上，通过资源共享、发展机会共享、公共服务共享和发展成果共享，逐步缩小城乡差距，实现城乡普遍繁荣和共同富裕。这种城乡共享发展，既体现了中国特色社会主义的本质要求，也是城乡融合发展的重要特征。习近平总书记再三强调要“让广大农民平等参与改革发展进程、共同享受改革发展成果”，提出“把工业反哺农业、城市支持农村作为一项长期坚持的方针”，充分体现了以人民为中心的发展思想和实现共同富裕的要求。

Second, it establishes a target system for urban-rural integrated development. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that advancing urban-rural development integration “aims to gradually achieve equalization of basic rights and interests between urban and rural residents, equalization of urban and rural public services, equalization of urban and rural residents’ incomes, rationalization of urban and rural factor allocation, and integration of urban and rural industrial development.” The “five modernizations” goal covers basic rights and interests, public services, residents’ incomes, factor allocation, and industrial development, forming a complete and scientific target system. Although this target system was proposed for urban-rural development integration, it is equally applicable to advancing urban-rural integrated development. Among the “five modernizations” goals, equalization of basic rights and interests between urban and rural residents places cities and villages on an equal footing, granting urban and rural residents equal basic rights and interests, including political rights, the right to education, the right to employment, property rights, and social security rights. It is the foundation and prerequisite for achieving urban-rural integrated development. The current priority is to accelerate the urbanization of the agricultural transfer population [n1], guarantee equal employment rights for urban and rural workers, and at the same time grant farmers more adequate property rights, promoting equal exchange of urban and rural factors. Equalization of urban and rural (basic) public services means that urban and rural residents can fairly and accessibly obtain roughly equal basic public services. It is an inherent requirement for achieving urban-rural integrated development and improving people’s well-being. The current priority is to fill the短板 (shortcomings) in rural public services, improve supply quality and convenience, and achieve high-quality and balanced urban and rural basic public services. Equalization of urban and rural residents’ incomes is a long-term process in which urban and rural residents’ incomes gradually converge. It is the core content of urban-rural integrated development and a key indicator for measuring the degree of urban-rural integration and common prosperity. Narrowing the urban-rural income gap focuses on increasing farmers’ incomes and promoting sustained and stable growth of farmers’ incomes. Rationalization of urban and rural factor allocation is an important feature of urban-rural integrated development, requiring the combined force of government and the market. The current priority is to eliminate various institutional barriers, promote two-way flow and optimal allocation of urban and rural factors, and improve the efficiency of urban and rural factor allocation. Integration of urban and rural industrial development is both a basic trend of urban-rural integrated development and an effective way to advance comprehensive rural revitalization. The current focus is on fully tapping into the multiple functions of agriculture and the diverse values of rural areas, promoting deep integration and transformation and upgrading of the entire chain of urban and rural industries.

二是确立城乡融合发展目标体系。习近平总书记指出，推进城乡发展一体化“目标是逐步实现城乡居民基本权益平等化、城乡公共服务均等化、城乡居民收入均衡化、城乡要素配置合理化，以及城乡产业发展融合化”。“五化”目标涵盖基本权益、公共服务、居民收入、要素配置、产业发展等领域，构成了一个完整科学的目标体系。尽管这一目标体系是针对城乡发展一体化提出的，但对推进城乡融合发展同样适用。在“五化”目标中，城乡居民基本权益平等化是将城市与乡村置于平等的地位，赋予城乡居民平等的各项基本权益，包括政治权利、受教育权、就业权、财产权、社会保障权益等，它是实现城乡融合发展的基础和前提。当前重点是加快农业转移人口市民化，保障城乡劳动者平等就业权利，同时赋予农民更加充分的财产权利，推动城乡要素平等交换。城乡（基本）公共服务均等化是指城乡居民能够公平可及地获得大致均等的基本公共服务，它是实现城乡融合发展、增进民生福祉的内在要求。当前重点是补齐乡村公共服务短板，提高供给质量和便利度，实现城乡基本公共服务优质均衡。城乡居民收入均衡化是城乡居民收入逐步趋近的长期过程，它是城乡融合发展的核心内容，也是衡量城乡融合和共富程度的关键指标。缩小城乡居民收入差距重在增加农民收入，促进农民收入持续稳定增长。城乡要素配置合理化是城乡融合发展的重要特征，需要发挥政府与市场的合力。当前重点是消除各种制度壁垒，促进城乡要素双向流动、优化配置，提高城乡要素配置效率。城乡产业发展融合化既是城乡融合发展的基本趋势，也是推进乡村全面振兴的有效途径。当前重在充分挖掘农业多种功能和乡村多元价值，促进城乡产业全链条深度融合和转型升级。

Third, it clarifies the main direction of attack for urban-rural integrated development. Urban-rural integration is a multi-level, multi-field, and all-round comprehensive integration concept, involving multiple dimensions, various fields, and the entire process of urban-rural development. From the development dimension, urban-rural integration includes urban-rural factor integration, industrial integration, spatial integration, institutional integration, and policy integration. It is necessary not only to promote urban-rural factor, industrial, and spatial integration but also to promote the integration of urban-rural development systems and policies. From the development field, urban-rural integration includes urban-rural economic integration, social integration, and cultural integration, and is a concrete manifestation of the Five-Sphere Integrated Plan [n2] in urban-rural integrated development. From the development process, urban-rural integration includes urban-rural planning integration, construction integration, and governance integration, running through the entire process of urban-rural planning, construction, and governance. At the present stage, advancing urban-rural integrated development must highlight key points and clarify the main direction of attack. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out the need to “promote mutual integration and common development between urban and rural areas in planning layout, factor allocation, industrial development, public services, and ecological protection,” thereby clarifying the main direction of attack for advancing urban-rural integrated development.

三是阐明城乡融合发展主攻方向。城乡融合是一个多层次、多领域、全方位的全面融合概念，涉及城乡发展多维度、各领域和全过程。从发展维度看，城乡融合包括城乡要素融合、产业融合、空间融合、制度融合和政策融合，不仅要推动城乡要素、产业和空间融合，而且要促进城乡发展制度和政策的一体化。从发展领域看，城乡融合包括城乡经济融合、社会融合、文化融合等，是“五位一体”总体布局在城乡融合发展中的具体体现。从发展过程看，城乡融合包括城乡规划融合、建设融合、治理融合，贯穿于城乡规划、建设、治理全过程。在现阶段，推进城乡融合发展必须突出重点，明确主攻方向。习近平总书记指出要“促进城乡在规划布局、要素配置、产业发展、公共服务、生态保护等方面相互融合和共同发展”，由此明确了推进城乡融合发展的主攻方向。

Fourth, it emphasizes comprehensively raising the level of urban-rural integration. In practice, urban-rural integrated development is a gradual process advancing from a medium-low level to a high level. At present, China’s economy has shifted from a stage of high-speed growth to a stage of high-quality development, and high-quality development has become an important goal for urban and rural development everywhere. Under the new circumstances, we pursue a high-quality, comprehensive, and sustainable high-level urban-rural integrated development. As early as 2015, General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed “gradually achieving a high level of urban-rural development integration” and pointed out the need to “strive to form a new pattern of urban-rural development integration.” In recent years, he has emphasized building a new pattern of urban-rural integrated development. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee [n3] clearly proposed “comprehensively raising the level of integration in urban-rural planning, construction, and governance.” These all fully reflect the thinking of high-level urban-rural integrated development. Of course, achieving such high-level urban-rural integrated development will be a long-term gradual process that needs to be advanced in stages in an orderly manner.

四是注重全面提高城乡融合水平。在实践中，城乡融合发展是一个由中低水平逐步向高水平迈进的渐进过程。当前，我国经济已由高速增长阶段转向高质量发展阶段，高质量发展成为各地城乡发展的重要目标。新形势下，我们追求的是一种高质量、全面、可持续的高水平城乡融合发展。早在2015年，习近平总书记就提出要“逐步实现高水平的城乡发展一体化”，并指出要“努力形成城乡发展一体化新格局”。近年来，他又强调构建城乡融合发展新格局。党的二十届三中全会明确提出要“全面提高城乡规划、建设、治理融合水平”。这些都充分体现了高水平城乡融合发展的思路。当然，实现这种高水平城乡融合发展将是一个长期的渐进过程，需要分阶段有序推进。

Systematically planning the practical path for urban-rural integrated development

系统谋划城乡融合发展的实践路径

In recent years, China’s urban-rural integrated development has advanced rapidly, achieving significant phased results. However, overall, the current urban-rural development gap remains relatively large, the level of urban-rural integrated development still needs improvement, the long-standing institutional mechanisms of urban-rural segmentation have not been fundamentally eliminated, and building a new pattern of high-level urban-rural integrated development that meets the requirements of common prosperity still has a long way to go. Advancing urban-rural integrated development must proceed from national conditions, both following general laws and highlighting its own characteristics, to take the path of urban-rural integrated development well.

近年来，我国城乡融合发展快速推进，取得了阶段性的显著成效，但总体上看，目前城乡发展差距仍然较大，城乡融合发展水平还有待提高，过去长期形成的城乡分割体制机制尚未从根本上消除，构建符合共同富裕目标要求的高水平城乡融合发展新格局依然任重道远。推进城乡融合发展要坚持从国情出发，既要遵循一般规律，又要突出自身特色，走好城乡融合发展之路。

First, promote strategic coordination and two-way integration. Implementing strategic coordination is an important measure for promoting urban-rural integrated development in the New Era. As early as the Central Economic Work Conference held at the end of 2017, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized the need to “follow the general trend of urban-rural integrated development, and insist on grasping both new-type urbanization and rural revitalization.” In essence, insisting on “grasping both” means emphasizing the coordination of the two major strategies. Subsequently, a central meeting held in December 2023 emphasized the need to “coordinate new-type urbanization and comprehensive rural revitalization,” and the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee proposed “must coordinate new-type industrialization, new-type urbanization, and comprehensive rural revitalization,” incorporating new-type industrialization into strategic coordination. Implementing coordination in these three aspects means organically combining new-type industrialization, new-type urbanization, and comprehensive rural revitalization, strengthening the coordination and interconnection of their strategic goals, planning and design, implementation mechanisms, and policy tools, fully leveraging strategic synergy and mutual support, forming a strong combined force, and using strategic coordination to promote the formation of a new pattern of high-level urban-rural integrated development.

一是推进战略统筹和双向融合。实行战略统筹是新时代促进城乡融合发展的重要举措。早在2017年底召开的中央经济工作会议上，习近平总书记就强调“要顺应城乡融合发展大趋势，坚持新型城镇化和乡村振兴两手抓”。从本质上讲，坚持“两手抓”就是强调两大战略的统筹。此后，2023年12月中央召开会议强调要“统筹新型城镇化和乡村全面振兴”，党的二十届三中全会又提出“必须统筹新型工业化、新型城镇化和乡村全面振兴”，将新型工业化纳入战略统筹之中。实行这三方面的统筹，就是要把新型工业化、新型城镇化和乡村全面振兴三者有机结合起来，强化其战略目标、规划设计、实施机制、政策工具等的统筹协调和相互衔接，充分发挥战略协同效应和相互支撑作用，形成强大合力，以战略统筹推动形成高水平的城乡融合发展新格局。

Urban-rural integrated development is a process of achieving co-construction, sharing, and co-prosperity through urban-rural openness and integration. Advancing new-type urbanization and comprehensive rural revitalization requires integrating the concept of urban-rural integrated development into them. At the Central Rural Work Conference held at the end of 2017, General Secretary Xi Jinping clearly stated the need to reshape urban-rural relations and take the path of urban-rural integrated development; in 2018, he emphasized that “to do a good job of the great article of the rural revitalization strategy, we must take the path of urban-rural integrated development.” When discussing urbanization and urban development, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that “urbanization is a process of coordinated urban-rural development” and “without rural development, urbanization will lack a foundation.” Following this guidance, China’s urbanization must develop simultaneously with agricultural modernization, and urban work must be promoted together with work on agriculture, rural areas, and farmers. This is to view the process of comprehensive rural revitalization and urbanization from the perspective of urban-rural integration and coordinated development, breaking through the traditional binary opposition thinking of urban and rural areas, jumping out of the mindset of discussing cities only in terms of cities and discussing villages only in terms of villages, and providing a new path for advancing new-type urbanization and comprehensive rural revitalization.

城乡融合发展是通过城乡开放和融合实现共建共享共荣的过程，推进新型城镇化和乡村全面振兴需要将城乡融合发展理念融入其中。习近平总书记在2017年底召开的中央农村工作会议上明确提出，要重塑城乡关系，走城乡融合发展之路；2018年强调“要把乡村振兴战略这篇大文章做好，必须走城乡融合发展之路”。在谈及城镇化和城市发展时，习近平总书记强调“城镇化是城乡协调发展的过程”“没有农村发展，城镇化就会缺乏根基”。以此为遵循，我国城镇化必须同农业现代化同步发展，城市工作必须同“三农”工作一起推动。这是从城乡融合和协调发展角度来看待乡村全面振兴和城镇化过程，突破了传统的城乡二元对立思维，跳出了就城市论城市、就乡村论乡村的思路，为推进新型城镇化和乡村全面振兴提供了新路径。

Second, improve the institutional mechanisms and policy systems. Innovation in institutional mechanisms is the key driving force for urban-rural integrated development. At present, it is urgent to break down the barriers of the urban-rural dual structure, accelerate innovation in institutional mechanisms, improve the relevant policy systems, and use reform and innovation to continuously push urban-rural integrated development to a higher level. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out, “We must take reform as the driving force and constantly break down the urban-rural dual structure” and “Seek impetus from reform, and accelerate the establishment and improvement of the institutional mechanisms and policy systems for urban-rural integrated development.” In this process, systematic deployment should be made in areas such as planning and layout, factor mobility, infrastructure, public services, educational development, and social security, clarifying the goals and measures for deepening reform in each field. In terms of planning and layout, it is necessary to strengthen top-level design and systematic planning, improve the planning system, take into comprehensive consideration the formulation of urban and rural development plans, design them as a whole, and integrate multiple plans into one. In terms of factor mobility, institutional barriers that hinder the equal exchange and two-way flow of urban and rural factors should be removed, promoting the movement of talent, capital, and technology to the countryside, promoting the orderly flow of the rural population and the orderly agglomeration of industries, and forming a development mechanism of urban-rural interaction and virtuous cycles. In terms of infrastructure, it is necessary to promote the interconnection, shared construction, and shared use of urban and rural infrastructure, innovate the decision-making, investment, construction, operation, and maintenance mechanisms for rural infrastructure and public service facilities, encourage and support the broad participation of social capital, and gradually establish an infrastructure service network that covers the entire area, benefits all, and integrates urban and rural areas. In terms of public services, it is necessary to accelerate the delivery of public services to the countryside, improve the institutional mechanisms for equalizing basic public services between urban and rural areas, and gradually establish and improve a basic public service system that covers the entire population, benefits all, and integrates urban and rural areas. In terms of educational development, priority should be given to the development of rural education, and the mechanism for compulsory education development that uses cities to drive townships, promotes overall progress, integrates urban and rural areas, and achieves balanced development should be accelerated. In terms of social security, a multi-tiered social security system that covers the entire population, coordinates urban and rural areas, is fair and unified, and is sustainable should be improved.

二是完善体制机制和政策体系。体制机制创新是推动城乡融合发展的关键动力。当前，亟需破除城乡二元体制障碍，加快体制机制创新，完善相关政策体系，以改革创新推动城乡融合发展不断向更高水平迈进。习近平总书记指出，“要坚持以改革为动力，不断破解城乡二元结构”“向改革要动力，加快建立健全城乡融合发展体制机制和政策体系”。在这一过程中，要从规划布局、要素流动、基础设施、公共服务、教育发展、社会保障等方面进行系统部署，明确各领域深化改革的目标和举措。在规划布局方面，要加强顶层设计和系统谋划，完善规划体制，通盘考虑城乡发展规划编制，一体设计，多规合一。在要素流动方面，要破除妨碍城乡要素平等交换、双向流动的制度壁垒，推动人才下乡、资金下乡、技术下乡，推动农村人口有序流动、产业有序集聚，形成城乡互动、良性循环的发展机制。在基础设施方面，要推进城乡基础设施互联互通、共建共享，创新农村基础设施和公共服务设施决策、投入、建设、运行管护机制，鼓励和支持社会资本广泛参与，逐步建立全域覆盖、普惠共享、城乡一体的基础设施服务网络。在公共服务方面，要加快推动公共服务下乡，完善城乡基本公共服务均等化体制机制，逐步建立健全全民覆盖、普惠共享、城乡一体的基本公共服务体系。在教育发展方面，要优先发展农村教育事业，加快建立以城带乡、整体推进、城乡一体、均衡发展的义务教育发展机制。在社会保障方面，要完善覆盖全民、统筹城乡、公平统一、可持续的多层次社会保障体系。

Third, take counties as the important entry point. The county economy is the basic unit of the national economy and occupies an important position in the national economic system. Counties are also the hub for the flow and allocation of urban and rural resource factors. Overall, China’s county-level land area accounts for about 90% of the country, and the population proportion exceeds 50%. Counties are the areas with the closest urban-rural ties and have a solid foundation for taking the lead in achieving urban-rural integrated development. At the Central Conference on Rural Work held at the end of 2020, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that counties should be taken as the important entry

三是以县域为重要切入点。县域经济是国民经济的基本单元，在国民经济体系中占据重要地位。县域也是城乡资源要素流动和配置的枢纽。从总体看，我国县域国土面积占全国90%左右，人口比重超50%，是城乡联系最紧密的地区，率先实现城乡融合发展具有坚实基础。在2020年底召开的中央农村工作会议上，习近平总书记指出，要把县域作为城乡融合发展的重要切入点，推进空间布局、产业发展、基础设施等县域统筹，把城乡关系摆布好处理好，一体设计、一并推进。此后，他在不同场合又提出“率先在县域内破除城乡二元结构”和“率先在县域内实现城乡融合发展”的要求。把县域作为城乡融合发展的重要切入点，这是由县域的地域范围和基本特征决定的。县域面积大体适中，城乡联系较为紧密，通勤距离和交易半径不大，融合和迁移成本较低，是现阶段推进城乡融合发展的有效地域单元。同时，县域内城乡差距较小，一体化相对容易，有条件率先破除城乡二元结构，率先实现城乡融合发展。只有实现了县域内城乡融合发展，才能为在更高层次上实现城乡融合发展创造条件。随着经济社会发展水平的提高，城乡融合发展的统筹层次将逐步提升，统筹地域范围也将不断扩大。各地区应从自身实际出发，因地制宜推进城乡融合发展。例如，在长三角、珠三角等经济较发达地区，可考虑在地级市域范围内统筹城乡融合发展；而对一些具备条件的城区常住人口300万以上的大城市而言，可考虑在都市圈范围内实现城乡融合发展和一体化，并向同城化方向发展。

Innovatively Developing the Marxist Theory of Urban-Rural Relations

创新发展马克思主义城乡关系理论

General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important discourses on urban-rural integrated development possess a profound theoretical lineage and a realistic foundation. They systematically address major theoretical and practical issues in China’s urban-rural integrated development, innovatively develop the Marxist theory of urban-rural relations, and lay the ideological groundwork for reshaping urban-rural relations in the New Era.

习近平总书记关于城乡融合发展的重要论述，具有深厚的理论渊源和现实基础，系统回答了我国城乡融合发展中的重大理论和现实问题，创新发展了马克思主义城乡关系理论，为新时代重塑城乡关系奠定了思想基础。

First, they innovatively develop the theory of the urban-rural community. Marx and Engels, from the perspective of the development of productive forces and the social division of labor, revealed the laws governing the evolution of urban-rural relations. They regarded urban-rural integration as the advanced form of urban-rural relations and emphasized that “the abolition of the antithesis between town and country is one of the primary conditions of the community.” [4]4 Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, *The German Ideology*, in *Marx/Engels Collected Works*, vol. 5 (Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1976), p. 64. Comrade Mao Zedong, when discussing urban-rural relations, stressed that “town and country must be taken into account simultaneously” and that urban work and rural work must be closely linked. Comrade Deng Xiaoping emphasized the interaction between town and country, pointing out that “the countryside and the cities influence and promote each other in this way.” General Secretary Xi Jinping, from the perspective of urban-rural symbiosis, stressed that “industry and agriculture, cities and villages must be planned as a whole” and that “towns and villages promote and advance each other, coexisting symbiotically.” This not only innovatively develops the theory of the urban-rural community but also provides important support for constructing a new type of worker-peasant and urban-rural relationship. It must be recognized that this organic whole of mutual promotion, mutual advancement, and symbiotic coexistence between town and country is, in essence, an urban-rural community. Within this urban-rural community, equality, openness, and complementarity between town and country are the objective basis and prerequisite for its formation; mutual promotion, mutual advancement, symbiotic coexistence, joint construction, and shared benefits are its basic characteristics; and common prosperity for both town and country is the development goal. It should be recognized that without equality, openness, and complementarity between town and country, there can be no mutual promotion, mutual advancement, symbiotic coexistence, joint construction, and shared benefits, and it would be difficult to achieve the goal of common prosperity for both town and country. The urban-rural community is both a community of interests and a community of development. In recent years, China has actively promoted the construction of urban-rural communities in education, healthcare, culture, governance, and ecology. This is a vivid practice of the urban-rural development community in various fields.

一是创新发展了城乡共同体的理论。马克思、恩格斯从生产力和社会分工发展的角度揭示了城乡关系演变规律，认为城乡融合是城乡关系的高级形态，强调“消灭城乡之间的对立，是共同体的首要条件之一”。毛泽东同志在论述城乡关系时，强调“城乡必须兼顾”，必须使城市工作和乡村工作紧密地联系起来。邓小平同志强调城乡之间的互动，指出“农村和城市，就是这样相互影响、相互促进”。习近平总书记从城乡共生的角度，强调“要把工业和农业、城市和乡村作为一个整体统筹谋划”“城镇和乡村是互促互进、共生共存的”。这不仅创新发展了城乡共同体的理论，而且为构建新型工农城乡关系提供了重要支撑。要看到，这种城乡互促互进、共生共存的有机整体，其本质就是城乡共同体。在城乡共同体中，城乡平等、开放和互补是其形成的客观基础和前提条件，城乡互促互进、共生共存、共建共享是基本特征，城乡共同繁荣是发展目标。应该看到，如果没有城乡平等、开放和互补，就谈不上城乡互促互进、共生共存和共建共享，也就难以实现城乡共荣的目标。城乡共同体既是一种利益共同体，也是一种发展共同体。近年来，我国积极推进城乡教育、医疗、文化、治理、生态等共同体建设，就是城乡发展共同体在各领域的生动实践。

Second, it put forward the conception of a new type of industry-agriculture-urban-rural relationship. In a certain sense, urban-rural integrated development is an advanced stage in the evolution of urban-rural relations. As the stage of development and conditions change, urban-rural relations will also change accordingly. General Secretary Xi Jinping attaches great importance to reshaping urban-rural relations and has put forward new requirements on how to construct a new type of industry-agriculture-urban-rural relationship in light of changing circumstances. In 2013, General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed to “form a new type of industry-agriculture-urban-rural relationship characterized by industry promoting agriculture, urban areas leading rural areas, industry and agriculture benefiting each other, and urban and rural areas integrating as one,” reflecting the requirement to promote urban-rural integrated development. At the end of 2017, General Secretary Xi Jinping made a new summary of the new type of industry-agriculture-urban-rural relationship from the perspective of urban-rural integrated development, proposing that “we must adhere to the principle of industry compensating agriculture and urban areas leading rural areas, and promote the formation of a new type of industry-agriculture-urban-rural relationship characterized by mutual promotion between industry and agriculture, mutual complementarity between urban and rural areas, comprehensive integration, and common prosperity.” Here, industry compensating agriculture and urban areas leading rural areas is a policy that needs to be adhered to over the long term, reflecting the policy requirement of giving priority to agricultural and rural development. Mutual promotion between industry and agriculture and mutual complementarity between urban and rural areas reflect the mutually promoting and complementary relationship between industry and agriculture and between urban and rural areas; comprehensive integration reflects the basic characteristics of urban-rural integrated development; and common prosperity reflects the goal of urban-rural integrated development and the requirement of common prosperity [5]. Among these, common prosperity is the universal prosperity of both cities and villages, “building both prosperous cities and prosperous rural areas.” In 2020, the central authorities, based on the new situation, proposed to “strengthen the role of industry compensating agriculture and urban areas leading rural areas, and promote the formation of a new type of industry-agriculture-urban-rural relationship characterized by mutual promotion between industry and agriculture, mutual complementarity between urban and rural areas, coordinated development, and common prosperity.” Here, “comprehensive integration” was adjusted to “coordinated development.” This change in wording is more in line with the requirements of the new development concept and also reflects the gradual deepening of understanding. Integration is merely a means and pathway of development, while coordination is both a means and a goal of development; coordinated development places greater emphasis on fairness in development opportunities and balanced allocation of resources, which aligns with the goal orientation of achieving common prosperity. In short, the conception of the new type of industry-agriculture-urban-rural relationship advances with the times, clarifies the focal points for advancing urban-rural integrated development in the New Era and the basic direction for reshaping urban-rural relations, and is a major innovation with both theoretical and practical significance.

二是提出了新型工农城乡关系构想。从一定意义上说，城乡融合发展是城乡关系演变的高级阶段。随着发展阶段和条件的变化，城乡关系也将随之改变。习近平总书记高度重视重塑城乡关系，并根据形势变化对如何构建新型工农城乡关系提出新的要求。2013年，习近平总书记提出要“形成以工促农、以城带乡、工农互惠、城乡一体的新型工农城乡关系”，体现了对推进城乡发展一体化的要求。2017年底，习近平总书记从城乡融合发展视角对新型工农城乡关系作出新的概括，提出“要坚持以工补农、以城带乡，推动形成工农互促、城乡互补、全面融合、共同繁荣的新型工农城乡关系”。这里，以工补农、以城带乡是需要长期坚持的方针，体现了农业农村优先发展的政策要求。工农互促、城乡互补体现了工农城乡之间的互促互补关系，全面融合体现了城乡融合发展的基本特征，而共同繁荣体现了城乡融合发展的目标和共同富裕的要求。其中，共同繁荣是城市和乡村的普遍繁荣，“既要建设繁华的城市，也要建设繁荣的农村”。2020年，中央又根据新形势提出要“强化以工补农、以城带乡，推动形成工农互促、城乡互补、协调发展、共同繁荣的新型工农城乡关系”。其中，将“全面融合”调整为“协调发展”，这一表述的变化更加符合新发展理念的要求，也反映了认识的逐步深化。融合只是发展手段和途径，而协调既是发展手段又是发展目标，协调发展更加注重发展机会公平和资源配置均衡，符合实现共同富裕的目标导向。总之，关于新型工农城乡关系的构想与时俱进，明确了新时代推进城乡融合发展的着力点和重塑城乡关系的基本方向，是一个兼具理论和现实意义的重大创新。

(The author is a specially appointed researcher at the Research Center for Xi

（作者系中国社会科学院习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想研究中心特约研究员、中国社会科学院学部委员）

Online editor: Huihui

网络编辑：慧慧