Agricultural and rural development, commonly referenced as “三农” (agriculture, rural areas, and farmers), remains a strategic linchpin in China’s broader modernization and economic stability agenda.
On December 29–30, 2025, the Central Rural Work Conference was held in Beijing to assess the achievements and challenges of rural work and to set out strategic priorities for 2026, the first year of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030). The meeting placed accelerating agricultural and rural modernization at the center of China’s national development strategy, emphasizing its essential role in advancing Chinese-style modernization and ensuring food security, rural prosperity, and urban–rural integration.
Executive Summary
- The Central Rural Work Conference was convened in Beijing by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council of the People’s Republic of China on December 29–30, 2025. The conference set strategic priorities for 2026 rural work, aligning with broader national objectives of agricultural and rural modernization.
- The conference underscored that 2026 marks the beginning of the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026–2030), making agricultural and rural development a determinant factor in China’s modernization pathway.
- Core strategic goals include enhancing agricultural production capacity, stabilizing food supply, consolidating poverty reduction achievements, and promoting rural revitalization and urban–rural integration.
- Key task areas encompass grain production capacity expansion, technological modernization, rural reform deepening, land use policy innovation, and economic diversification in rural areas.
- The conference reaffirmed the importance of rural modernization as foundational to broader modernization and emphasized strengthening policy support systems, institutional reforms, and multi-sectoral coordination.
- For business stakeholders, the strategic deployment points to opportunities in Agri-tech, food value chains, rural infrastructure, and services, as well as heightened expectations for innovation, quality improvement, and market integration.
Anchoring Modernization in National Development
The Central Rural Work Conference reaffirmed that agricultural and rural modernization is integral to Chinese-style modernization. The conference outlined that achieving rural modernization is not merely a sectoral objective but a national development imperative, as rural economies underpin food security, social stability, and domestic market expansion. Positioning agriculture and rural areas at the heart of modernization signals sustained central policy support and resource prioritization.
This strategic elevation reflects continuity with China’s long-term policy evolution from factor-driven growth toward quality, technology-led, and resilient economic structures across all sectors, including agriculture. The emphasis on rural modernization aligns with broader goals such as poverty reduction, equitable development, and cross-sectoral integration.
Strengthening Agricultural Production and Food Security
One of the most prominent themes emerging from the conference is a renewed focus on agricultural production capacity and food security. Recognizing the global uncertainties affecting food systems, the conference positioned stabilizing grain production and expanding capacity as foundational tasks. This includes scaling up the next phase of the grain production capacity enhancement initiative, commonly referred to as the “千亿斤粮食产能提升行动” (billion-kilogram grain production capacity boost action). Such initiatives seek to bolster grain yields and ensure stable supply despite external pressures on commodity markets.
The policy priority on food security also involves a broader emphasis on key staple crops, optimization of crop varieties, and production structure adjustments that balance quantity with quality. Ensuring reliable production capacity strengthens national resilience and directly supports rural economic stability.
Promoting Agricultural Modernization and Technology Adoption
The conference highlighted the need to modernize agricultural systems through technology and innovation. This includes enhancing agricultural technology integration into traditional farming practices, upgrading mechanization, and propelling digital agriculture. These measures are designed to lift productivity, reduce operational risks, and move the sector closer to intelligent, science-based processes.
Technological modernization also supports the development of new quality productive forces, a term that captures innovations in farm inputs, robotics, data analytics, and supply chain technologies. As agriculture transitions from factor-intensive to technology-driven, these innovations can generate higher value output and reduce reliance on manual, labor-heavy modes.
Consolidating Poverty Alleviation and Strengthening Rural Welfare
Building on the significant achievements in poverty reduction, the conference agenda emphasized avoiding large-scale relapse into poverty and integrating long-term support mechanisms into the broader rural revitalization process. Transitioning from concentrated poverty alleviation campaigns to sustained economic support structures underscores efforts to institutionalize resilience and economic security in rural communities.
Efforts to support stable and diversified income, including expanding rural industries, strengthening social safety nets, and enhancing service access, form a critical component of the policy package. These measures aim to enhance rural economic autonomy and reduce vulnerability to shocks.
Deepening Rural Reform
Institutional reform occupies a central place in the 2026 rural work blueprint. The conference called for deeper rural reforms, including expanding pilot programs that extend land contract rights, notably, extending the second round of land contract periods by another 30 years in some provinces, which can provide tenure security and encourage longer-term investment in land productivity.
Reform efforts also target resource activation, optimizing the use of rural assets, including land, labor, and collective resources, to catalyze economic activities and attract private investment. Innovations in rural finance, cooperative structures, and market linkages are expected to support enterprise formation and agricultural value chain integration.
Enhancing Rural Infrastructure and Living Conditions
Improving rural living environments emerged as another strategic thrust. This encompasses enhancing basic infrastructure such as roads, utilities, water systems, and digital connectivity, all of which enable more integrated participation in markets and services. Better infrastructure directly affects cost structures for rural producers and reduces barriers to accessing urban markets.
Additionally, environmental measures aimed at rural habitat improvement, such as sanitation upgrades, ecological governance, and landscape rehabilitation, are designed to make rural areas more livable and attractive for long-term settlement and investment.
Integrating Rural Policy With Broader National Frameworks
The 2026 work plan emphasizes cross-sectoral coordination, integrating rural development objectives with broader national agendas such as the Central Economic Work Conference priorities and 15th Five-Year Plan directives. This alignment indicates that rural modernization is treated not in isolation but as synergistic with economic restructuring, domestic demand expansion, and urban–rural integration. Coordinated implementation mechanisms are expected to facilitate consistent progress across regions while enabling tailored local strategies that reflect diverse rural conditions.
Performance Metrics and Evaluation
To ensure the effectiveness of policy implementation, the strategic blueprint implies the use of performance tracking and adaptive management systems. These systems help monitor grain output, farmer income trends, rural infrastructure deployment, and technology adoption rates. Establishing clear benchmarks allows for evidence-based adjustment of interventions and more efficient allocation of resources.
What This Means for Business
- Agricultural Technology and Services Expansion: The emphasis on modernization creates substantial opportunities for firms providing digital agriculture solutions, precision farming tools, Agri-biotech innovations, and automation systems.
- Food Supply Chain Investment: Stabilizing grain and key commodity production capacity directs investment toward storage, logistics, crop processing, and value-added food sectors, potentially improving margins and supply resilience.
- Rural Infrastructure and Connectivity: Demand for rural infrastructure development — including transport, energy, and digital networks — can catalyze private sector participation through public–private partnerships and regional development projects.
- Rural Market Integration: Firms with strategies geared toward rural consumer markets and supply chain linkages can benefit from rising rural consumption capacity and more structured market access.
- Institutional Reform Support Services: Advisory and consulting opportunities may emerge in areas such as land policy transition, financial innovation, and cooperative models that leverage reform momentum.
Sources
- Central Rural Work Conference on 2026 Rural Work Strategic Deployment, Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and State Council of the People’s Republic of China, held December 29–30, 2025.
https://www.news.cn/politics/20251231/4f014cf4a09e4661bf0e78f71cea7e25/c.html (news.cn)
- Xi Calls for Solidly Advancing Rural Revitalization Across the Board, Xinhua/CPPCC English report, updated 31 December 2025.
https://en.cppcc.gov.cn/2025-12/31/c_1152234.htm (cppcc.gov.cn) - Central Rural Work Conference Highlights Agricultural and Rural Modernization, People’s Daily Online analysis, 31 December 2025.
https://en.people.cn/n3/2025/1231/c312369-20408709.html (en.people.cn) - Detailed Analysis of Central Rural Work Conference Priorities, 21st Century Business Herald summary, 31 December 2025.
https://finance.sina.com.cn/roll/2025-12-31/doc-inhesten3768117.shtml (finance.sina.com.cn)