China’s rural vitalization provides reference experience for the transformation and development efforts of other Global South countries

In 2017, while continuously achieving new breakthroughs in poverty alleviation, the Chinese government launched the rural vitalization strategy. Since its implementation, the strategy has not only consolidated and expanded the gains of poverty alleviation but also driven profound transformations in rural areas through sustained policy support and diversified practical innovations.

Today, China’s rural areas are increasingly connected to markets, technology and new economic opportunities, radiating unprecedented vitality and vigor. Currently, China has entered the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) period and proposes to accelerate the modernization of agriculture and rural areas and solidly advance comprehensive rural vitalization. This will undoubtedly bring more opportunities for rural transformation and development. In contrast, in some other Global South countries, rural areas suffer from inadequate infrastructure, low market penetration and overdependence on conventional agriculture, making the promotion of rural transformation and development a pressing challenge. From the perspective of the Global South, China’s pathway to rural vitalization offers multifaceted experiences worth learning from.

First, the Chinese government adheres to a people-centered development philosophy, prioritizing the principal role of villagers in rural governance. By establishing the self-governance at the grass-roots level through legislation, the central government guides the development direction through macro-policies and utilizes administrative strength to channel more national resources to rural areas, while granting local governments and villagers’ autonomous organizations space to formulate specific measures tailored to local conditions. This participatory rural governance model is grounded in grassroots needs and reflects the realities of different regions, successfully uniting diverse stakeholders in rural development — such as farmers, enterprises and local governments — and forging a synergy of co-governance, co-construction and sharing.

Second, China has promoted the flourishing development of rural e-commerce through market-oriented pathways, enabling agricultural producers to directly sell primary agricultural products and numerous processed goods to markets across the country and even globally. Concurrently, the Chinese government attaches great importance to the enabling role of digital technology in rural development, continuously strengthening the endogenous power of rural industrial development and propelling rural industries to move up the value chain. This process has opened up broad horizons for youth employment and entrepreneurship. According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, by the end of 2024, the cumulative number of people returning to their hometowns to start businesses had reached nearly 13 million. Acting as both users and promoters of digital technology, they have effectively alleviated the shortage of talent in rural areas and the problem of one-way population flow to cities, injecting new vitality into rural development.

Third, China has adhered to the bottom line of protecting traditional culture and ecological diversity. This has formed a development paradigm featuring the deep integration of agriculture, culture and tourism — known as the “agri-culture-tourism” model. Taking Yunnan province as an example, its mountainous areas boast a superior ecological environment suitable for developing characteristic forestry and fruit industries. The local area has vigorously developed rural tourism, benefiting over 600 villages. This integrated model of agriculture, culture and tourism has not only effectively activated traditional cultural resources and realized the economic value of ecological protection, but also promoted the agglomeration of development factors in rural areas.

Fourth, China emphasizes promoting rural transformation and development through infrastructure construction. This has driven the continuous improvement of rural infrastructure, including roads, irrigation and electricity. For instance, the total length of rural roads in China has exceeded 4.64 million kilometers, and all of the country’s more than 30,000 townships and over 500,000 administrative villages are now connected by paved roads. The improved transportation system and roads enable villagers to transport products at lower costs, access regional markets and obtain better education, healthcare and other essential services. Meanwhile, China began implementing the “digital village strategy” in 2018. By the end of 2025, the 5G coverage rate of administrative villages nationwide exceeded 90 percent. This has played a significant role in improving rural governance efficiency, promoting the development of the rural digital economy, and narrowing the urban-rural development gap.

Guided by the rural vitalization strategy, China has developed a dynamic approach to rural transformation and development. For some other Global South countries, confronting the impacts of both long-standing and emerging challenges such as poverty, inequality, climate change and the digital divide, rural transformation faces significant complexity and uncertainty. Although China’s experience is characterized by its distinct national conditions, the universal principles and practical wisdom it embodies can still offer valuable lessons for other developing countries. China has proposed to “provide more international public goods” in the outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan. If China can more effectively share its rural development experience with the whole Global South through richer and more diversified South-South cooperation, it will help promote rural transformation and sustainable development in the Global South.

First, drawing on China’s experience in training rural professional managers and promoting youth entrepreneurship in their hometowns, more training programs can be provided for rural youth in the Global South to enhance the endogenous power of their rural development.

Second, cooperation in agricultural trade and investment should be strengthened. At a time when the global economy faces numerous uncertainties, some Global South countries can leverage the advantages of China’s vast market space and stable tariffs to promote the export of more high-quality agricultural products to China. Meanwhile, by signing bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements and other means, more convenient conditions can be provided for agricultural trade and investment from China. This will help enhance the resilience of agricultural value chains and assist smallholders in better integrating into the global market.

Third, the specific areas of agricultural South-South cooperation should be gradually expanded. China and other Global South countries can consider strengthening cooperation in areas such as the protection of agricultural heritage, rural ecological conservation and the enhancement of agricultural climate resilience. By leveraging diversified channels such as investment, trade and aid, these efforts will help other Global South countries better protect and utilize various rural development resources, improve the overall efficiency of agricultural development and ensure that the vast majority of smallholder farmers benefit from the process.

Fourth, other Global South countries can not only utilize Chinese programs and investment to improve their rural roads, water conservancy and electricity infrastructure, but also learn from China’s experience in promoting digital village construction. Pilot projects can be conducted in certain regions to synchronize traditional infrastructure construction with new infrastructure such as 5G, thereby elevating overall infrastructure levels and maximizing the driving role of economically advanced areas.

A K M Kanak Pervez is a professor at the University of Rajshahi, Bangladesh. Zhao Wenjie is an associate professor at the College of Humanities and Development Studies at China Agricultural University.

The authors contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

Contact the editor at editor@chinawatch.cn.