The 14th Issue of Policy Briefing, NADS: Vigilance Against Inaction and Irresponsible Action in Implementing Central Document No. 1

The CPC Central Committee and the State Council have recently issued 2017 Central Document No. 1 – Several Opinions on Comprehensively Promoting Supply-side Structural Reform of Agriculture and Accelerating Formation of New Impetuses for Agricultural and Rural Development, making deployment for China’s “New-pattern Rural Reform” in the new historical period. Central Document No. 1 is a central document featuring Chinese agriculture, rural areas, and farmers, which has been issued for 14 straight years since 2004. It is the fundamental and programmatic guiding document and policy design for our country to push forward rural reform, and it has been playing a pivotal role in carrying forward rural reform and creating a new situation of rural construction. This year’s No. 1 Central Document is far more important than before because China is now in a critical period, in which China’s economic development has stepped into the new normal and the supply-side structural reform of agriculture is underway. However, in a bid to well implement the Central Document No. 1, we also need to pay attention to and watch out for all possible malpractices and problems in the implementation process. This article mainly enumerates several major aspects where inaction and irresponsible action easily occur, like input in scientific and technological research and innovation, rural ecological environmental protection, government administration, and rural land reform. And concrete analyses are made accordingly. On this basis, the article offers three feasible policy proposals that we maintain sharp vigilance against inaction and irresponsible action, seek out the breeding ground of inaction and irresponsible action, and establish a reward and punishment system to root out inaction and irresponsible action.