<p>Executive Summary<br/>&#1048707; China has had enormous success in developing its economy over the past three decades. Market-oriented reform,<br/>globalization, industrialization, and urbanization are the four key secular drivers of China's rapid economic growth.<br/>&#1048707; The importance of agriculture, farmers, and countryside in the economy has waned as the economy takes off, but they<br/>have made very important contributions. However, they have failed to benefit fully from the working of these four growth<br/>drivers, in the form of unfavorable terms of trade against agricultural products (due to price controls), cheap migrant labor<br/>(partly reflecting the residence registration, or the Hu Kou system), supply of low-cost land (partly as a result of land<br/>ownership policy) and so on.<br/>&#1048707; Indeed, China's successful development strategy has delivered rapid economic growth but at the expense of rising ruralurban<br/>disparity, which threatens the former's sustainability in the long run.<br/>&#1048707; Investing for sustainability has become a key part of the Chinese authorities' next generation development strategy. To<br/>this end, high policy priority has been given to addressing the three key rural issues (San Nong Wenti) — agriculture,<br/>farmers, and countryside, with the objective of: a) building a new socialist countryside; b) increasing urbanization; and c)<br/>preventing an increase in urban-rural inequality in incomes, living standards, and public services.<br/>&#1048707; With the existing policy controls being deregulated, new financial incentives rewarded, fiscal support provided, it creates<br/>investment opportunities for private investors who would like to position themselves to benefit from China's commitment<br/>to addressing the three key rural issues.<br/>&#1048707; In this note, we present and discuss the important and evolving roles of agriculture, farmers, and countryside in China's<br/>economic development, as well as the key issues and challenges to be addressed, with a view to providing a context for<br/>drawing market and investment implications in the future. In particular, we underscore the challenges and opportunities<br/>for financial institutions (e.g. commercial banks) in helping China meet these commitments.</p><p>Table of Contents<br/>1. Part I: The Evolving Role of Agriculture, Farmers, and Countryside 4-12<br/>2. Party II: Challenging Issues Concerning Agriculture, Farmers, and Countryside 13-21<br/>3. Part III: Diagnosis and Solution from A Historical and Development Perspective 22-35<br/>4. Part IV: Modest Progress 36-41<br/>5. Part V: Investing For Sustainability: Strategy and Targets 42-49<br/>6. Part VI: Investment Implications 50-54<br/>7. Appendix: Central Government Agencies Overseeing China’s Agriculture Sector 55</p><p></p>

[此贴子已经被作者于2009-3-13 11:00:25编辑过]