In the new stage of development, the promotion of county economic growth and the reduction of the urban-rural income gap are crucial for achieving the goal of common prosperity in China. This endeavor holds significant importance in advancing Chinese modernization. 

Characteristic development

From a regional development perspective, aligning county economic development with the building of metropolis circles and urban agglomerations can effectively facilitate the high-quality development of county economies.

County towns within urban agglomerations can strategically position themselves according to their own unique characteristics. They can effectively align with the economies of major urban centers, establish county-level industrial associations, and foster modern manufacturing and service industries. County towns outside urban agglomerations can actively integrate into the urban area by providing industrial supporting facilities, various public services, and undertaking industrial transfer. In addition, the unified planning and construction of infrastructure and public services in the metropolitan area will prioritize the coverage of county towns within the area, effectively enhancing the comprehensive carrying capacity of relevant counties, helping to cultivate urban-rural industrial chain connections, and forming a new pattern of industrial integration that drives urban-rural integration. Therefore, county-level economic development plans should be closely integrated with the development strategies of central cities and urban agglomerations, promoting the integrated development of urban agglomerations and surrounding counties and exploring the division of labor and cooperation with complementary urban-rural advantages at the county level.

Integrated development

From the perspective of factor-gathering and innovation, it is crucial to embrace the concept of integrated urban-rural development and comprehensively activate the driving forces of county-level economic development.

To accelerate the development of county economies, efforts must be made to leverage the agglomeration, accumulation, and spillover effects of production factors such as land and labor. According to statistics, about half of China’s population lives in counties. Achieving the agglomeration of various production factors within counties and capitalizing on these factors will be an important approach to further narrowing the development gap between county industries and urban-rural income gap. This will effectively promote common prosperity between urban and rural areas. In the future, China should further optimize the allocation of factors such as land, labor, capital, technology, and data within and outside the county, grant more autonomy in resource integration and utilization to the county level, and effectively enhance the county’s industrial support capacity.

In relation to labor factors, authoritative institutions predict that within the next 15 years, approximately 20% of China’s labor force will transition from agriculture to other industries. It is imperative to increase investment in rural human capital and promote rural labor force transfer and employment through multiple channels. In terms of capital factors, we will increase the coverage of comprehensive rural financial services. As for land factors, we will fully unleash the dividends of rural land system reform, guide more urban capital to flow to rural areas, and form a new pattern of urban-rural integration and development.

From the perspective of industrial transformation and upgrading, we should actively cultivate and strengthen county-level industries that enrich the people, and consolidate the foundation of common prosperity for rural residents and rural areas.

The unique characteristics of county-level industries should be highlighted. Furthermore, the differentiation of county-level industries should be prioritized. Moreover, the integration of county-level industries should be stressed. The digitization of county-level industries should be promoted.

From the perspective of institutional security, we need to increase the income of urban and rural residents through multiple channels, and address the problems in promoting common prosperity.

The balance of income between urban and rural residents is an important measure to test the quality of county level economic development. From the perspective of institutional guarantee, we should comprehensively improve the income level of county residents, which is vital for boosting the high-quality development of county economies. Firstly, we should further improve the labor market security system. Secondly, it is crucial to further deepen the reform of the income distribution system. In addition to expanding the pie, we must also ensure its equitable division. Thirdly, the financial power relationship between provincial, municipal, and county governments should be streamlined. Fourthly, the county level business environment should be improved.

Hou Rongna is a research fellow from the Rural Development Institute at Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences.