In 2014, by enhancing government support and guidance, and promoting innovation, the first batch of rural reform pilot zones made achievements. The initiation of the second batch of reform pilot zones was approved. The pilot program continued making new progresses.
1. The leadership system and work mechanism were improved in pilot zones In order to better integrate rural reform into the central government's comprehensive reform, a joined work system was built between the Central Leading Group for Comprehensively Deepening Reforms and the group for economic and ecological institutional reform. In order to make full use of the advantages of the joint meeting institution of the reform pilot zones, a cooperative work mechanism was developed, which was led by the Central Rural Work Leading Group, coordinated by the office of rural pilot reform, and included ministries at different levels.
2. The initiation of the second batch of pilot zones and tasks was approved Following the guidance and requirements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, based on discussions of the third joint meeting on rural reform pilot zones, and approved by the Central Rural Work Leading Group, the MoA and other related departments, 34 areas, such as the Tongzhou District in Beijing, were approved to be the second batch of pilot zones in November 2014. The second batch and the first batch of 9 pilot zones took on 14 tasks of five aspects, including deepening rural land institutional reform, improving agricultural support system, constructing modern rural financial system, promoting rural collective ownership system reform and enhancing rural administration mechanism. By the end of 2014, there were 58 pilot zones, covering 28 provinces (autonomous regions, or municipalities), which formed a well-developed reform pilot system that covered the major aspects of rural reform. In November 2014, a meeting on the pilot program was held to decide goals, tasks, priorities and measures, which clarified the direction for furthering rural reform; trainings were conducted for institution leaders in pilot zones to improve their organizing ability.
3. Explorations and experiments were steadily promoted The first batch of pilot zones made explorations to improve system design and regulations based on their local conditions, which made significant achievements and set examples for other areas. In terms of improving rural basic management system, related pilot zones made explorations in stabilizing rural land contracting relationships, enhancing the circulation system of rural land contract management, promoting the transform of agricultural business management and production forms, which effectively improved the standardized production, intensification and systematization of agriculture. In terms of constructing modern rural financial system, related pilot zones took efforts to tackle problems such as financing difficulties, guarantee difficulties, insufficient financial services and bad credit environment, which significantly improve rural financial services. In terms of rural ownership institutional reform, related pilot zones explored effective forms of collective economy, and created more accesses for farmers to earn property income. Successful explorations were made in aspects of asset and capital verification, the classification of rights, the construction of property rights trading market, and the demutualization of collective economic organizations. In terms of improving urban-rural integration system, related pilot zones released policies on industrialization, informatization, urbanization and agricultural modernization. Beneficial explorations were made in aspects of household registration system reform, new-type urbanization, the urban-rural equal exchange of factors of production, and the equalization of urban-rural basic public services.
