President Xi Jinping has called for solid efforts to advance all-around rural vitalization and ensure that farmers live happier and better lives.
Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks on Tuesday, one day ahead of the ninth Chinese farmers' harvest festival.
He extended festive greetings and sincere regards on behalf of the CPC Central Committee to farmers and people working on agricultural and rural fronts.
Xi noted that China's summer grain output reached a new high this year and early rice production remained stable, while a bumper harvest of autumn grain is anticipated.
He urged Party committees and governments at all levels to earnestly implement the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and take solid steps to advance rural vitalization.
He underlined the need to ensure that policies aimed at strengthening agriculture, benefiting farmers and enriching rural areas deliver greater outcomes, and to improve the overall production capacity, quality and performance of agriculture and broaden channels for farmers to increase their incomes and become more prosperous.
Xi also called for efforts to build livable, business-friendly, harmonious and beautiful villages tailored to local conditions, and to make the lives of the vast number of farmers happier and better.
The Chinese farmers' harvest festival, which was launched in 2018, is the first national festival created specifically for the country's farmers, aiming to promote Chinese agricultural culture and highlight the importance of work related to agriculture, rural areas and farmers.
The festival coincides each year with Autumn Equinox, which is one of the 24 solar terms, a traditional Chinese calendar system dividing the year into seasonal periods, and usually falls between Sept 22 and 24 during the country's agricultural harvest season.
