China spent less than four percent of?its fiscal
expenditure on farmers last year, according to an expert with the
Development Research Center (DRC) of the State Council, China's
cabinet.
?
Fiscal expenditure in China reached 3.16 trillion yuan in 2005,
and eight percent of that was used in areas related to rural
development, Han Jun, a DRC rural economy expert, said at a recent
forum.
Han noted that the actual amount spent on farmers was less than
four percent. The rest was used to build water facilities and roads
in the countryside.
China's fiscal expenditure on rural areas last year was the
lowest rate in the past 15 years, said the expert, calling on the
government to readjust its expenditure structure and allocate more
money to rural areas.
There has been a severe imbalance between urban and rural areas
in fiscal support from central government. China has focused on
developing its industries and cities in the past 20-plus years.
Sluggish rural development provides a stark contrast to booming
urban economy. China set the goal of building new countryside last year, hoping to
achieve balanced development in the country.
"China should have readjusted its policies ten years ago," said
Han.
The building of new countryside is focused on how to optimize
the allocation of resources between cities and countryside, and how
to resolve the relationship between the state and farmers, he
said.
The government gained 240 billion yuan in selling the right of
land use in 2004 and the figure for last year was around 200
billion yuan. The money should be used on farmers as most of the
land sold was in rural areas, said Han.
(Xinhua News Agency August 27, 2006)