Modernising China’s agriculture key to tackling slower economy, says Premier Li Keqiang
Investing in rural infrastructure can help digest some of excess capacity in China’s steel and cement industries and create new jobs, while improving distribution can also boost rural incomes, he says.
Modernising Chinese agriculture will help to counter slower economic growth by driving investment in rural infrastructure and boosting consumption, says China’s Premier Li Keqiang.
The Chinese economy grew last year at its slowest pace in 24 years as property prices cooled, hitting demand for a range of commodities.
Investing in infrastructure in rural areas could help digest some of the excess capacity in China’s steel and cement industries, as well as create new jobs, wrote Li in the latest issue of the Chinese Communist Party journal Qiushi.
Overhauling farming models and improving efficiency in distribution systems could also boost rural incomes, Li said in the article published on Sunday.
“Farmers are the country’s largest consumer group ... by increasing farmers’ incomes through accelerating agricultural modernisation, we can activate farmers’ huge potential consumption demand.”
About 45 per cent of China’s population, or 630 million people, still make a living from agriculture, analysts estimate, but their productivity lags far behind that of developed countries.