Xi encourages youth to make greater contributions to rural revitalization

Farmers tend flowers in a greenhouse in Guangxinzhuangzi Village, Fengrun District of Tangshan City in north China's Hebei Province, Dec 19, 2019. Facility agriculture has been a new highlight for rural revitalization in Fengrun District of Tangshan City, where local farmers are encouraged to grow specialty produces such as strawberries, flowers, and mushrooms in the greenhouse, and to build agricultrual sightseeing gardens and self-service picking gardens. Photo: Xinhua

With the comprehensive promotion of rural revitalization, more Chinese teenagers have seen their dreams in and devoted themselves to the development of the nation's countryside. The path was confirmed and encouraged by Chinese President Xi Jinping as the country celebrated Youth Day.

Xi encouraged young students to make greater contributions to rural revitalization. Xi made the remarks in a reply letter to students participating in a program at the China Agricultural University (CAU), which sends students to the frontlines of agricultural production, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Wednesday.

Xi said he was gratified to know that the students went deep into the fields and villages to get to know about people's wellbeing and gain knowledge through serving rural revitalization.

The CAU launched a program known as "science and technology backyards" in 2009 aiming to study and solve practical problems in the development of agriculture and rural areas, train high-level agricultural talent, and serve rural and agricultural modernization, according to media reports.

The university has established 139 such "backyards" in 24 provincial-level regions. Students from the program previously wrote a letter to Xi about what they achieved in practice and their determination to work for the construction of an agricultural power.

Replying to the students' remarks that they had learned to seek truth from facts and maintain close ties with the people when they went deep into China's rural areas, Xi said that this is the spirit that Chinese youth in the new era should have.

Xi's reply letter triggered heated discussion on Thursday, China's Youth Day, which falls on May 4 every year. The day marks the anniversary of the May Fourth Movement in China. In the new era, Chinese youth are expected to carry on the May Fourth Spirit, which refers to patriotism, progress, democracy and science, with patriotism at the core, and bear their responsibility to strive for national rejuvenation.

To inspire the young generation, China this year awarded 30 young people with China Youth May Fourth Medalsfor making great contributions to the country's modernization, including rural revitalization.

Rural revitalization is an important national strategy coming with favorable policies and investment, which means the mission presents Chinese youth with great chances and options in face of the current employment pressure and allows them to realize their dreams in a more promising platform, Yu Shaoxiang, chief research fellow with the National Institute of Social Development at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Thursday.

These CAU students are among the batches of young people in recent years who began their life journeys in the countryside, where they started businesses, worked as grassroots officials or assisted farmers in seeking new chances.

Among them, it is not rare to see overseas returnees or the highly educated - people who used to most likely find their positions in big cities.

They returned home with their dreams, new ideas and management models, which promoted the upgrading of local industries and created a large number of jobs.

Shen Yanfen, an urban white-collar worker who graduated from Shenzhen University, went back to her hometown in 2020 to help her father run the agricultural machinery cooperative. In 2022, she led the establishment of an agricultural machinery cooperative association and served as the president, and in 2023 she was elected as a deputy to the National People's Congress.

Not long ago, the Global Times talked with Jia Wei, a young entrepreneur in a village in East China's Zhejiang Province. Being the first university student who had returned to the village to start a business making tea, Jia has grown to be the president of a village youth entrepreneurship alliance that has gathered some 40 young people who desire to find their paths in the village.

He Shaomin, a young woman in Qingyuan, South China's Guangdong Province, pioneered her career in the e-commerce livestreaming industry years ago, and nowadays her team is helping local villagers and farmers to sell agricultural products through e-commerce livestreaming to consumers across the country.

Many young people from the Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan regions also have expectations to get to know and be involved in the development of the country's rural regions. He Shan from Hong Kong who operates an e-commerce business in Guangzhou said that "I believe young people from Hong Kong could bring more innovation to rural development so as to promote rural revitalization."

In turn, the influx of young people invigorates the rural regions, as rural revitalization is a task that can only be realized by empowering high-quality talent, Yu noted.