China to allocate more money to rural areas (Xinhua) Updated: 2006-02-05 19:52 China will adopt more favorable policies and
invest more money in the rural areas this year, said sources with the Chinese
Ministry of Finance recently.
An official with the ministry said rural construction will claim a higher
share of China's financial budgets in 2006, with more money to be spent on the
improvement of living conditions in the countryside.
According to the ministry, the Chinese government will provide an additional
grain fund of 1 billion yuan (124 million US dollars) for the country's 13 major
agricultural provinces in 2006.
The government will shift the focus of infrastructure construction from the
urban areas to the rural areas this year, with a number of key agricultural
projects set to be established.
China has greatly increased its investment in farmers, agriculture and the
countryside in recent years. It was estimated that in 2005, the central finance
allocated over 300 billion yuan (37.5 billion U.S. dollars) to support rural
development, a 50-percent rise from the 2002 figure.
In addition to direct financial support, China has announced the abolition of
agricultural tax as of January 1, 2006, which totals 22 billion yuan (2.75
billion dollars) every year.
Though government investment is on the up, farmers are still in an inferior
position in terms of education and social security compared with urban
residents.
Government statistics show that rural residents, who account for some 60
percent of the nation's total population, only have access to 20 percent of the
country's medical resources.
To change this, the ministry plans to further promote the reform of health
care services in the rural areas in 2006 by establishing a new medical system.
The ministry will also adopt follow-up measures to push forward the
development of rural public sanitation, education, science and technology and
culture for the building of a new socialist countryside in China.
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