In 2021, China Development Bank (CDB) conscientiously implemented the decisions and instructions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on promoting rural revitalization, strengthened the development of the policy system, and enhanced the efficiency of financial services, offering 594.8 billion yuan of loans in total to support development of key areas, such as industry development, follow-up development after poverty alleviation relocation, collaboration between the eastern and western regions, modernization of agriculture and rural infrastructure. It has made positive contributions to consolidating and expanding the fruits of poverty alleviation efforts and comprehensively promoting rural revitalization.
“Shaking off poverty is not the finish line, but the starting point of a new life and new endeavor.” With China’s complete victory in the battle against poverty, 98.99 million rural residents have started a new life of moderate prosperity in all respects. In order to support consolidating and expanding the fruits of poverty alleviation efforts and prevent a large-scale relapse into poverty, CDB earnestly implemented the guiding principles of the central government and kept stable financial assistance policies and intensity during the transition period. In 2021, the bank issued 271.4 billion yuan of loans to poverty-stricken areas to continue consolidating the fruits of poverty alleviation efforts.
Promoting industry and employment is the fundamental measure to increase the incomes of people who have been lifted out of poverty. CDB focused on strengthening its support to rural industries and cultural tourism in poverty-stricken areas, actively promoting the extension of industrial chains and the integration of the primary, secondary and tertiary industries, enabling people emerging from poverty to benefit more from the increment of industrial value. In Chongqing, CDB Chongqing Branch granted a loan of 9.6 billion yuan to support the city’s forestry ecosystem development – a National Reserve Forest Project – which covers Chengkou, Fengjie, Liangping and other poverty-stricken areas. It planned to build an afforestation base of 3.3 million mu, renovate and expand the seedling base to 8,050 mu, develop 200,000 mu for the under-forest planting and 60,000 mu for the forest-based health and wellness industry. Upon completion, the project will help the local people increase their incomes and become rich through diversified ways, such as the transfer of land and forest management rights, employment of forest service personnel, and development of under-forest tourism industry, achieving the organic unity of “making people get rich and protecting ecology”. In 2021, CDB issued loans totaling 20.4 billion yuan to facilitate the development after poverty alleviation relocation. It also supported 124 projects of collaboration between the eastern and western regions, including labor service cooperation projects, to increase employment and incomes of the people emerging from poverty.
Food security is of primary importance for the country. As President Xi Jinping stressed, ensuring the supply of important agricultural products, especially food supply, must be a top priority in implementing the rural revitalization strategy. Taking the initiative to bring into play the function of development finance, CDB stepped up support for modern agriculture centering on ensuring food security and stable supply of important agricultural products, with focus placed on supporting the construction of agricultural infrastructure, like high-standard farmland, and projects launched to achieve breakthroughs in seed resource technologies, and promoting the green development of agriculture. CDB has launched special loans for spring farming preparation for three consecutive years since 2020, assisting to meet the demand for funds for the production and circulation of agricultural materials such as seeds, pesticides, and fertilizers, and supporting the supply of agricultural and sideline products like grain, cotton, oil, sugar, dairy products, and meat. In addition, it also actively supported small and micro-sized enterprises and new agricultural business entities to develop rural industries through sub-loans.
Rural revitalization and development is promoted for the rural residents. CDB has actively geared itself for the five-year action on improving rural living environment. It focused on garbage and sewage treatment at county (district) levels to improve the rural living environment, and launched a special financial service scheme known as “100 billion credit for 100 counties”. In 2021, it granted credit loans of more than 150 billion yuan, covering more than 200 counties (districts). Meanwhile, it issued loans of 146.8 billion yuan for rural infrastructure construction, supporting the improvement and upgrading of rural infrastructure such as water, electricity, roads, gas, and the Internet, and helping ensure equal access to public services between urban and rural areas. In Gaotai County, Gansu Province, CDB assisted the local government to explore a market-oriented financing model of “four types of guarantees with collaboration of three parties”, which means that through the collaboration of the farmers, the bank and the government, people could get loans with the general guarantee of the county-owned agricultural investment company, multi-family joint guarantee, the farmers’ guarantee with their three land-related rights, and guarantee with relatives’ signatures, to solve the problem of “where the money comes from” in village construction and rural building upgrading. In the past two years, CDB Gansu Branch provided 132 million yuan of loans to Gaotai County in the rural building construction and upgrading, which was an ecological project of rural revitalization, supporting 864 rural households to build new houses, 759 rural households to rebuild houses, and supporting the construction of infrastructure including electricity, water supply and drainage in the new demonstration sites. Wang Bingguo, a local resident, said that with the support of the loans, he spent only 60,000 yuan of his own money to build and decorate his new house of 70 square meters. “I borrowed 120,000 yuan, and will repay the principal from the fourth year, 10,000 yuan for each year. It’s not a big deal for me.” said Wang Bingguo with a happy smile on his face, sitting in his new house with two bedrooms and one living room.
CDB has been exploring innovative services in practice, further amplifying the demonstrative and leading effect of development finance in supporting rural revitalization. In 2021, CDB played a leading and exploratory role in pilot projects, witnessing rewarding results. It defined five pilot cities, including Sanming City of Fujian Province, Ganzhou City of Jiangxi Province, Luzhou City of Sichuan Province, Zunyi City of Guizhou Province, and Yan’an City of Shaanxi Province. It held special work meetings, developed work plans, and provided differentiated policy arrangements, offering loans of 15.6 billion yuan for rural revitalization in those pilot cities to support featured projects such as Luzhou’s enclave industrial park and Zunyi’s capsicum industry. At the same time, it issued the first special financial bonds of 10 billion yuan for rural revitalization, and also underwrote bonds for rural revitalization to guide private funds to invest in rural infrastructure, waste and sewage treatment, and the construction of beautiful villages.
According to CDB officials, the bank would further study and implement the General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important expositions on agriculture, rural areas and farmers, further deepening the cooperation between the bank and the government, and giving full play to its role in development finance. Focusing on key areas such as modern agriculture, the development of weak regions including key counties for receiving assistance for rural revitalization, follow-up support for poverty alleviation relocation, collaboration and paired assistance between the eastern and western regions, rural infrastructure, and public service upgrading, it will continue to deliver high-quality targeted financial services to key areas, making new and greater contributions to comprehensively promote rural revitalization.
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