On 3 February 2026, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council jointly released the annual No. 1 Document, outlining priorities for advancing rural modernization and comprehensive rural revitalization in 2026. The document is titled Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on anchoring agricultural and rural modernization and solidly advancing comprehensive rural revitalization.
The year 2026 marks the first year of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030) and is widely regarded as a critical phase for laying the foundation for accelerated agricultural modernization and rural development. Guided by the experience of the “Thousand Villages Demonstration, Ten Thousand Villages Renovation” initiative—a long-running national program to improve rural infrastructure, governance, and living conditions—and anchored in safeguarding national food security, the document sets out a broad agenda to strengthen rural industries, improve rural governance and living conditions, raise farmers’ incomes, and advance Chinese-style agricultural modernization.
The document is structured into six major sections and 27 sub-sections, presenting a strategic roadmap for agricultural and rural development. The sections focus on: enhancing agricultural productivity and quality, strengthening targeted rural support, promoting stable income growth for farmers, building livable and attractive rural communities, advancing institutional and policy innovation, and reinforcing the Party’s leadership in rural affairs.
Key highlights
1. Food security and agricultural production
Grain output is to be stabilized at 700 million tons, alongside intensified efforts to increase production capacity by an additional 50 million tons. The document emphasizes the integrated development of high-standard farmland, improved seed varieties, advanced machinery, and scientific farming practices to achieve large-scale yield improvements and optimize production structures and regional layouts.
Further priorities include improving grain quality, strengthening storage, transport, and distribution systems, consolidating soybean production capacity, expanding diversified oilseed supplies, and stabilizing the cotton, sugar, and natural rubber industries. Measures to reduce food loss and waste and promote low-carbon, ecological agriculture are also highlighted.
The so-called “vegetable basket” system—China’s policy framework for ensuring stable supplies of fresh food products— is to be strengthened, alongside the development of a diversified food supply system integrating agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, and fisheries. Pork supply is to be stabilized, while targeted support is planned for the recovery of the beef and dairy sectors, including measures to boost dairy consumption, expand forage production, upgrade grassland-based livestock systems, modernize protected and controlled-environment farming systems, such as greenhouses, develop deep-sea aquaculture and distant-water fishing, and expand forest-based foods and bio-agriculture.
The red line for cultivated land—120 million hectares—will be strictly upheld. High-standard farmland construction will advance through zoned and categorized approaches, irrigation systems will be modernized, black soil protection strengthened, and saline-alkali land improved.
Innovation remains a central pillar. The document calls for strengthening agricultural innovation platforms, accelerating breakthroughs in key technologies, and improving the transformation of research results into practical applications. Priority areas include the seed sector, biological breeding, and advanced and smart agricultural machinery, including equipment suited to hilly and mountainous areas. Greater integration of artificial intelligence, drones, the Internet of Things, robotics, and bio-manufacturing technologies into agriculture is also emphasized.
In addition, agricultural resilience to climate change and natural disasters is to be enhanced through improved early-warning infrastructure and coordinated disaster response systems.
On the trade side, agricultural imports are to be diversified, internationally competitive agricultural enterprises cultivated, and exports of advantageous specialty products expanded, with stronger emphasis on both import diversification and export promotion.
2. Poverty alleviation and rural assistance
Regular assistance policies will be fully implemented to ensure stable access to basic education, healthcare, housing, and safe drinking water, with the explicit goal of preventing a large-scale return to poverty. Post-poverty-alleviation support is to be institutionalized as a long-term mechanism, emphasizing policy stability and coordination.
The document highlights early detection and precise intervention to prevent poverty relapse, supported by data-driven monitoring systems and flexible exit mechanisms. Employment assistance will be strengthened through organized labor export, local job creation, asset supervision, and continued support for relocated populations. Tiered and differentiated support frameworks for underdeveloped areas are also foreseen.
3. Raising farmers’ incomes
A comprehensive income guarantee mechanism for grain farmers will be improved through coordinated pricing, subsidy, and insurance policies. Measures include refining minimum purchase prices, production subsidies, insurance coverage, futures market participation, and interprovincial compensation mechanisms to stabilize returns.
The document promotes the development of rural and small-city industries aimed at increasing farmers’ incomes. It encourages integrated development across agriculture, processing, services, e-commerce, cultural tourism, and forestry-based industries. Employment support for migrant workers will be expanded through vocational training, wage protection, support for older migrant workers, flexible unemployment insurance, and work-relief programs. Efforts to expand rural consumption through improved facilities, services, and new consumption scenarios are also highlighted.
4. Rural development and “beautiful villages”
Integrated spatial planning is positioned as the foundation of rural revitalization, balancing development needs, ecological protection, and land-use efficiency while improving living conditions. Rural infrastructure is to be upgraded to modern standards, with an emphasis on long-term maintenance, digital connectivity, and coordinated county-level planning.
The document calls for narrowing rural–urban gaps in education, healthcare, elderly care, and social protection through stronger county-level coordination and enhanced grassroots service capacity. Ecological restoration is placed at the core of rural revitalization, linking environmental governance, green agriculture, and large-scale ecological protection initiatives.
5. Institutional reform and rural governance
Province-wide pilots to extend rural land contracts for another 30 years upon expiration of the second round will be fully launched, aiming to ensure contract stability for most households while resolving disputes in an orderly manner. Land transfer mechanisms will be regulated, family farms, farmer cooperatives, and agricultural service providers strengthened, and moderate-scale operations promoted to better integrate smallholders into modern agricultural systems.
Reforms of rural collective property rights, supply and marketing cooperatives, and state-owned agricultural reclamation asset management systems will continue, alongside strict controls on new village-level debt. Rural construction land will be allowed to enter the market in an orderly manner, primarily for collective economic and rural industrial development, while commercial housing construction will remain prohibited. Integrated urban–rural development will be promoted by making it easier for labor and capital to move between cities and rural areas, while ensuring that rural residents’ rights are protected and that talent is encouraged to work and settle in rural areas.
Implications
The renewed emphasis on import diversification alongside export promotion under China’s “going out” strategy in agri-food trade is likely to create both new opportunities and intensified competition for China’s existing and prospective trading partners.
Measures to strengthen pork production management, support the beef and dairy sectors, and promote dairy consumption may help stabilize industries currently affected by oversupply and low prices. At the same time, they could result in tighter import quotas or higher levels of tariff protection.
The strong focus on technological advancement and innovation—including agricultural machinery, digitalization, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and seed and breeding technologies—signals continued and potentially expanded public and private R&D investment. Foreign investment in these areas is encouraged and is expected to benefit from preferential treatment, as reflected in China’s updated foreign investment catalogue.
Efforts to raise farmers’ incomes and stimulate rural consumption will require a coordinated, multi-pronged policy approach, with outcomes heavily dependent on how competing stakeholder interests are balanced in practice. Targeted rural assistance aimed at preventing a return to poverty is also likely to require increased fiscal support, which may face short-term constraints due to reduced government revenues linked to the real estate downturn.
Read full document
State Council of the People’s Republic of China. 2026. Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on anchoring agricultural and rural modernization and solidly advancing comprehensive rural revitalization. (in Chinese)
News coverage
China News Service (ECNS). 2026. China maps out agricultural modernization and rural revitalization goals. 4 February 2026.
CGTN. 2026. China sets plans for agricultural modernization and rural revitalization. 3 February 2026.
Global Times. 2026. China releases No. 1 Document outlining rural revitalization priorities. 4 February 2026.
Phoenix News. 2026. Interpretation of China’s No. 1 Document for 2026. 4 February 2026.
SF. 2026. China’s No. 1 Document pushes grain security and agri-tech innovation. 5 February 2026.
