China Issues Plan to Broaden Rural Revitalization Funding Through 2030

Approved by the Central Committee for Deepening Reform, six departments including the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Office of the Central Rural Work Leading Group and the National Development and Reform Commission jointly issued the Implementation Plan for Upholding Priority to Agriculture and Rural Development and Improving the Rural Revitalization Funding Mechanism. The plan sets out arrangements in six areas: fiscal spending, bonds, credit, insurance, private investment and rural collective assets. It calls for broadening investment channels for agriculture and rural areas and for coordinating funds from various channels. The 15th Five-Year Plan outline proposed a diversified investment framework with prioritized fiscal guarantees, greater financial support and active social participation to ensure steadily increasing funding for rural revitalization. The plan translates and refines those requirements.

In 2025, national fiscal spending on agriculture, forestry and water affairs reached RMB 2.35 trillion, and outstanding agriculture-related loans totaled RMB 53.57 trillion. Social capital participation has helped gradually form a diversified investment framework for agriculture and rural areas. The plan calls for prioritizing general public budget spending on agriculture and rural areas, optimizing the investment structure, focus and methods, and implementing policies on using land transfer revenue for agriculture and rural areas as required.

On bond funding, in 2025 China arranged RMB 1.3 trillion in ultra-long special treasury bonds, RMB 800 billion in new general local government bonds and RMB 4.4 trillion in new special local government bonds. The plan requires coordinated use of various bond funds, a better role for special bonds in strengthening foundations, shoring up weaknesses and improving livelihoods in agriculture and rural areas, and high-quality advancement of "two major" construction in the sector.

On credit funding, in 2025 China's outstanding farmer loans reached RMB 18.42 trillion, and outstanding loans to agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery totaled RMB 6.89 trillion. The plan proposes deepening special financial support for rural revitalization, using monetary policy tools comprehensively, and, without adding hidden local government debt, supporting financial institutions in providing credit and allocating more financial resources to key areas and weak links in rural economic and social development to better meet diverse financial needs.

On agricultural insurance, in 2025 China's agricultural insurance premiums exceeded RMB 155 billion, providing risk protection for 125 million farmer households. The plan calls for improving the multi-tiered agricultural insurance system and accelerating high-quality development of agricultural insurance; making good use of full-cost insurance and planting income insurance for rice, wheat, corn and soybeans; supporting insurance for local specialty agricultural products; supporting insurers in enriching product offerings and expanding agriculture-related insurance supply; and advancing precise underwriting and claims to improve service quality and efficiency.

On private investment, in 2025 private fixed-asset investment in the primary industry was RMB 526.4 billion, accounting for 55% of total fixed-asset investment in the sector. The plan calls for giving play to the positive role of private investment in rural revitalization, guiding private investment into the sector in a lawful, standardized and orderly manner, and, on rule-of-law and market-oriented principles, using loan interest subsidies and investment-bond linkages to encourage patient capital to invest in agriculture and rural areas.

At the same time, enterprises and village collectives are encouraged to reasonably build and operate energy projects such as solar, wind, hydropower and biomass in rural areas through village-enterprise cooperation and other models.

On implementation, the plan proposes a working mechanism with central coordination, provincial responsibility and city, county and township implementation, to tighten local government investment responsibility, strengthen interdepartmental communication and coordination, and form joint work efforts. It also calls for strengthening factor guarantees, proceeding from reality, increasing support for various factors and promoting efficient allocation of factor resources; optimizing the investment environment, enhancing consistency and effectiveness of agriculture and rural investment policies, and effectively protecting the lawful rights and interests of business entities. On supervision, oversight and incentive constraints will be strengthened to prevent misuse, embezzlement and fraudulent claims of fiscal funds and guide financial institutions to serve rural revitalization more precisely.

Under the plan, by 2030 a rural revitalization funding mechanism will basically take shape that is suited to the level of agricultural and rural development, with a reasonable structure, scientific methods and equal emphasis on quality and efficiency.