THE TONE-SETTING CENTRAL RURAL WORK CONFERENCE was held in Beijing on Friday and Saturday, outlining the roadmap for the government's work related to agriculture, rural areas and farmers in the coming year. Xinhua News Agency comments:

In a recent speech, President Xi Jinping spoke of the importance of agricultural and countryside development and the improvement of farmers' sense of well-being. And his speech highlights the focus of work related to agriculture in 2020, which will decide whether the country can successfully realize a moderately prosperous society in all respects next year.

The meeting prioritized the battle against poverty and the need for consistent poverty alleviation efforts to prevent people from slipping back into poverty.

Governments on various levels should try to pool resources, enhance support and take targeted measures to strengthen the weak links in the work on agriculture, rural areas and rural people.

Given the development gap between the rural and urban areas, resources should be used to boost the development of rural infrastructure and water conservation projects, and improve the rural living environment, education, medical services, social security, cultural activities and ecological environment.

As the conference emphasized, efforts must be made to ensure grain production is kept stable and pig farming must be restored as quickly as possible to increase the supply. Modern agricultural facilities and cold chain logistics facilities for the storage and preservation of produce need to be increased.

The conference also highlighted that encouraging skilled workers to return to the countryside to set up businesses would be beneficial to maintain stable employment.

To this end, related departments and local governments must shoulder their responsibilities and sustain farmers' enthusiasm for grain production. And the development of grassroots Communist Party of China organizations must also be improved, so that they can assume their due roles to ensure that the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects is achieved on time.