On November 4, 2008, the International Press Center of the Foreign Ministry of China invited Huang Yanxin, Deputy Director of the Department of Policy and Regulation of the Ministry of Agriculture, to hold a press conference on issues concerning rural reform and development in China. More than 30 foreign journalists based in China attended the press conference.

Huang said that the Third Plenary Session of the 17th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) was held at a moment when China's reform and development entered a critical stage. The Decision on Major Issues Concerning Rural Reform and Development (hereinafter referred to as the Decision) adopted by the meeting fully reflects the firm determination of the CPC to solve issues concerning agriculture, rural area and farmers and the common aspiration of all the Chinese people, especially the millions of farmers. It is a guiding document on pushing forward rural reform and development under new situations.

The first part of the Decision explains the significance of promoting rural reform and development under new situations, lists the five major achievements of rural reform and development, analyzes the four contributions of rural reform and development to the overall economic system and economic development, summarizes five experiences on rural reform and development, points out four main issues for the next stage of reform and development and makes a scientific judgment about the development stage of Chinese agriculture. According to the Decision, China has generally entered into the development stage in which industry props up agriculture and urban areas support rural areas, a critical moment of accelerating traditional agriculture restructuring and pursuing a path of agricultural modernization with Chinese characteristics and a key period of breaking down the urban-rural dual structure and building a new pattern of integration of rural and urban economic and social development. It shows that conditions and external environment have been ready to accelerate rural reform and development in China.

The second part of the Decision defines the guiding thought, objectives and major principles of rural reform and development. What is new about the guiding thought is that it requires implementing comprehensively the Scientific Outlook on Development, takes the building of socialist new rural area as the strategic task, the following of the agricultural modernization path with Chinese characteristics as the basic direction and the accelerated building of a new pattern of integrated rural and urban economic and social development as the basic requirement and insists on the principle that industry props up agriculture, cities support villages and the policy of giving more, taking less and being flexible. This is the overall deployment in order to solve the issues of agriculture, rural area and farmers. By giving more, it means granting more subsidies to farmers so as to increase their income; by taking less, it means asking less from farmers to reduce their burden; and by being flexible, it means emancipating the rural productivity and activating rural production factors. The ultimate goals are to encourage farmers to be more active, proactive and innovative through reform, strengthen agricultural foundation, increase farmers' income, protect their rights and interests, promote harmony in rural areas and push for faster and better development of the rural economy. The Decision defines the tasks of rural reform and development as follows: As required by the 17th CPC National Congress, by 2020, the rural economic system should be improved, the system of integrated economic and social development in rural and urban areas be basically established, remarkable achievements be achieved in agricultural modernization, comprehensive agricultural productivity enhanced greatly and national food security and main farm products supply effectively guaranteed. Compared with 2008, the per-capita net income of farmers in 2020 will double. The per-capita net income of Chinese farmers was 4,140 yuan in 2007 and will reach at least over 8,300 yuan by 2020. After adjusting for price rises, the per-capita nominal income of farmers should reach about 10,000 yuan. The five principles summarized on the 30-year experiences of rural reform and development must be followed in order to accelerate reform and development. The following are the five principles. First, we must consolidate and strengthen the fundamental position of agriculture and always give top priority to feeding the more than 1 billion of population. Second, we must effectively protect rights and interests of farmers and take realizing, maintaining and developing their fundamental interests as the starting point of our rural undertaking. Third, we must emancipate and develop the rural social productivity and take reform and innovation as the basic driving forces for rural development. Fourth, we must coordinate the rural and urban economic and social progress and implement the strategy of building a new type of relationship between workers and farmers, villages and cities. Fifth, we must ensure that CPC is in charge of the rural undertaking and always take strengthening and improving the leadership of the CPC of the rural undertaking as the political guarantee for pushing forward rural reform and development.