Rural areas crucial to China's common prosperity

Li Hongyao, Party secretary of Changjiang village in Jiangyin and a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress. [Photo/Wuxi Daily]

Realizing Chinese-type modernization is inseparable from the modernization of rural areas, said Li Hongyao, Party secretary of Changjiang village in Jiangyin, a county-level city of Wuxi, and a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress, in a recent interview with Wuxi Daily.

Li added that rural areas are crucial to China's common prosperity, while the collective economy is an important contributor to common prosperity in rural areas.

Li made a suggestion related to the establishment of a State-level fund for common prosperity at the annual session being held in Beijing from March 5 to 13. He said that he expects society will find a way to achieve common prosperity together.

In 2021, Jiangyin set up the first county-level fund for common prosperity in the country, and Changjiang village donated 5 million yuan ($718,000) to the fund, according to the NPC deputy.

He said that the capital for the State-level fund can come from government expenditures and social donations, and that relevant government departments can manage donations and distribution.

Li also noted that Changjiang village will contribute to China's common prosperity by developing a recycling economy, protecting its six-kilometer shoreline along the Yangtze River, and beautifying the living environment.