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Since the founding of New China, the changes of urban-rural relations in China can be roughly divided into three stages:
First, from the founding of New China to before the reform and opening up. The policy at this stage is characterized by supplementing agriculture with industry, limiting the inflow of rural population into cities, and a large number of rural surplus labor forces are deposited on the land. This was inevitable under the historical conditions at that time, but it also led to the gradual formation and continuous strengthening of the urban-rural dual system.
Second, after the reform and opening up to the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. With the gradual liberalization of agricultural products market, township enterprises have sprung up, rural surplus labor force has shifted to non-agricultural industries and cities and towns, and the correlation between urban and rural economies has been significantly enhanced.
Third, since the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. Establish the basic strategy of coordinating urban and rural development, implement the policy of "industry feeds back agriculture, cities support rural areas" and "give more and take less and let go", continuously strengthen the policy system of strengthening agriculture and benefiting farmers, and initially build an institutional framework for the integration of urban and rural economic and social development.
The state implements epoch-making rural tax and fee reform and directly subsidizes farmers; Significant progress has been made in the construction of infrastructure such as water, electricity, roads and gas in rural areas; Fully implement the reform of rural compulsory education funds guarantee mechanism, expand the coverage of new rural cooperative medical care, comprehensively establish and improve the rural minimum living security system, carry out the pilot work of new rural social endowment insurance, and continuously expand the coverage of public finance in rural areas; Gradually relax the restrictions on farmers' employment and residence in cities, promote equal employment in urban and rural areas, and actively safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of migrant workers; Wait a minute.
While fully affirming the positive changes in urban-rural relations, we should also see that under the background of China's rapid economic growth, accelerated transformation of development mode, accelerated transformation of social structure and profound changes in interest pattern, the situation of weak agricultural foundation, backward rural development and difficulties in increasing farmers' income has not fundamentally changed, the momentum of widening the gap between urban and rural development has not been curbed, and the deep-seated contradictions caused by the dual structure of urban and rural areas still exist. This is mainly manifested in:
The problem of the loss of rural resource elements is still outstanding. Under the influence of market mechanism, the profit-seeking nature of capital makes financial institutions absorb a large amount of funds from rural areas to cities, forming a huge funding gap in rural areas. The compensation standard of land expropriation for farmers is unreasonable, and the distribution of land value-added income is obviously inclined to urban and non-agricultural sectors, so the long-term livelihood of landless farmers can not be guaranteed. The wages of migrant workers are still at a low level, and the problems of different pay for equal work with urban workers and the dislocation of wages and actual labor contributions still exist.
The problem that the allocation of public resources is not conducive to rural areas is still outstanding. In recent years, the state has increased investment in rural infrastructure and public service system. However, due to the weak foundation of agricultural and rural development in China, many investment debts, insufficient coverage and depth of public finance in rural areas, and the supply of public goods biased towards cities, there is a big gap between urban and rural residents in enjoying public services. The strength of financial support for agriculture does not match the growth of national financial resources.
The system of "city governing county" strengthens the regulation and control ability of municipal government in resource allocation, resulting in the phenomenon that prefecture-level cities and counties compete for profits, wealth is increasingly concentrated at the municipal level, and financial investment is increasingly concentrated at the municipal level, which has brought about a serious shortage of public resources needed by governments at or below the county level to promote development and provide services, which has aggravated the "urban deviation".
The contradiction between industrialization, urbanization and citizenization of migrant workers is still outstanding. Migrant workers go to cities for employment, not only hoping to increase their income and improve their lives, but also eager to integrate into cities and towns. However, under the dual structure of urban-rural division, they are still regarded as "passers-by" in cities and towns.
Cities and towns "accept migrant workers economically, but exclude them socially" and "work regardless of life". Migrant workers have a high threshold for settling down in cities and cannot enjoy the same treatment as urban residents. Migrant workers with stable employment can't settle down in cities and towns, and they have been running between urban and rural areas for a long time. This incomplete transfer mode can not stabilize the decrease of farmers, nor can it transfer land to agricultural labor force.
It is a long process for farmers to become citizens. In this process, it is necessary to create conditions for farmers to live and work in cities and towns; At the same time, farmers should be allowed to continue to enjoy land rights and interests as a survival guarantee to cope with uncertainties and various risks. This is the need to protect farmers' interests and promote the healthy development of urbanization.
County economy and small towns are the key links to coordinate urban and rural development. Expand the authority of county-level economic and social management, on the basis of implementing the policy of "directly administering counties", further increase the general transfer payment from the central and provincial finance to county-level finance, accelerate the establishment of the basic financial security mechanism of county and township governments, and guarantee the basic functions of grassroots governments.
Where conditions permit, we can explore the system of administering counties directly according to law. Implement investment and land policies that are conducive to the development of small towns, increase state investment in the construction of infrastructure and public service systems in small towns, enhance the attractiveness of small towns, and build county towns and central towns into important areas where production factors gather and carry rural population transfer.
Make overall plans to promote urbanization and new rural construction. The "two-wheel drive" of urbanization and new rural construction is an important feature of the urbanization road with China characteristics. We should coordinate the relationship between them strategically and promote the coordinated development and prosperity of urban and rural areas. China can't wait for industrialization and urbanization before promoting agricultural modernization, as some western developed countries do. Nor can we follow the development path of a large number of farmers in some developing countries entering cities to become urban poor, let alone form a large number of slums around cities.
Based on the national conditions, we should ensure that industrialization and urbanization are promoted without rural decline, agricultural decline and farmers' bankruptcy. While promoting urbanization, deepen rural reform, stabilize and improve the basic rural management system, improve the degree of farmers' organization, cultivate modern agricultural management subjects, accelerate the transformation from traditional agriculture to modern agriculture, and accelerate the development of rural secondary and tertiary industries; Strengthen the development of rural human capital and the cultivation of new farmers, and comprehensively improve the quality of farmers; Strengthen the construction of new rural communities, strive to lead modern civilization to the countryside, and gradually realize agricultural modernization.