Featured industries boost rural employment in NW China

LANZHOU, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- Lian Songzhong, 31, is now living a life he has long dreamed of -- working close to home with plenty of time to care for his family.

Hailing from Gelong village in Tanchang County, located in Longnan city, northwest China's Gansu Province, Lian previously worked as a migrant far from home. However, he has now been working for a feed processing company in his hometown for almost a year, earning a monthly income of nearly 5,000 yuan (about 696 U.S. dollars).

"The company provides free accommodation. I spend 8 yuan a day on food. It's more cost-effective than working as a migrant worker," Lian said, noting that he cherishes his current life.

In the past, Tanchang County was not an attractive investment destination due to poor transportation and an underdeveloped economy. A lack of job opportunities meant that many of the local residents had to leave their hometown to find work.

China's western region has been capitalizing on its resource advantages to promote investment and stimulate business growth. This approach has fueled rural development amid efforts to consolidate poverty alleviation achievements and accelerate rural revitalization.

"Featured industries boost rural employment, thus attracting more to return and work in rural areas and making these areas more attractive and livable," said Zhang Jianqiang, Party secretary of Tanchang.

In 2023, Xu Pingqing, an entrepreneur whose hometown is in Longnan, established a feed processing company in Tanchang County with the support of the local government.

According to Zhang Yujie, general manager of the company, the output value of the company reached 80 million yuan in the first half of the year.

The company has created nearly 70 jobs for locals, including farmers like Lian, as well as college graduates with professional skills.

Yang Quanhong, who graduated from a vocational institute in Gansu, started working for the company as a sales representative in February. "I hope to make a career for myself in rural areas," said Yang, noting that the job offers plenty of room for career development.

With improvements to transportation and the business environment, rural areas in western China are becoming more favored by enterprises, according to Mao Jinhuang, deputy dean of the School of Economics at Lanzhou University.

China has stepped up rural road construction to speed up rural revitalization. Official data shows that a total of 2.5 million km of rural roads have been built or upgraded over the past decade. Additionally, all townships and administrative villages with suitable conditions have been connected by paved roads.

Over the years, Longnan, in the face of tough geological challenges, has opened more railways and expressways, which facilitated investment and business development.

A bean products manufacturer in Fujia Township of Longnan's Huixian County has even expanded into the overseas market, exporting their products to more than 20 countries and regions, including the Republic of Korea, Singapore and Thailand.

According to the local investment promotion bureau in Longnan, a total of 254 investment projects were signed in the first three quarters of this year, with total investment contracts of about 56.7 billion yuan.

"By introducing high-quality enterprises, vast rural areas in western China have built modern factories and developed featured industries, providing more job opportunities and higher incomes for locals," said Mao of Lanzhou University.

"These efforts will also help bring together a group of talents dedicated to career development in the countryside, opening up new possibilities for rural revitalization," Mao added.