Classification and strategy of rural revitalisation in China
In the context of urbanisation in the third world, rural revitalisation faces challenges in relation to how to design a suitable approach recognising and incorporating the complexity and diversity of different geographical locations in terms of resource endowments, development conditions, social cultural and other factors.
It raises a question about how to establish a comprehensive, accurate and operational system for regional classification in order to develop relevant and suitable regional strategies and policies. This question is particularly salient in China, where central government has issued a strategic plan for rural revitalisation in 2018, but yet to release a classification system for implementation at local and regional level.
Furthermore, no consensus has been reached between academia, policy makers, and other stakeholders as to how to form a rural classification system to capture and recognise different characteristics of different regions. This is due to many factors involved, such as: different visions, different understanding of the future of the countryside, as well as the complexity and diversity of rural revitalisation pathways.
This project attempts to develop an approach focusing on identifying typologies of rural revitalisation by region, associated with a set of identification and classification methods by reviewing good practices and lessons learnt in rural development practices in China, and also comparing with the experience of the EU. It is envisaged that different strategies and policy recommendations will be formed for different regions based on their characteristics identified in the rural classification system.
Specifically, this project aims to answer the following questions:
- What are the differences between different stakeholders in terms of understanding, intentions and suggestions on the classification of rural areas in future? What are the criteria and key factors that affect the classification?
- What are the qualitative and quantitative influencing factors for rural identification and classification? By what mechanisms can the voices of multiple stakeholders be heard and integrated into the process of rural classification and implementation?
- What are good practices in rural revitalisation in China? What can we learn from the experience of EU countries? What are the policy implications of rural classification for improving rural revitalisation practices in different types of regions or rural areas across China?
This project will be carried out through the CFRS platform comprised by Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), UoN, ADAS, etc. Interviews with key stakeholders and case studies in typical counties will be taken. We welcome young scholars with interest, ideas and empirical research experience to join our research team and to publish high-quality academic papers.
ECRs: Chen Jing (CAAS), Yan Dan (Nanning University), Feng Xin (Suzhou S & T University)
Mentors: Yiying Cao (Principle Economist, ADAS), Bin Wu (UoN).
Contact: Chen Jing