The problem of agriculture, rural areas and farmers is an imperative one of importance that must be dealt with in the course of building a well-off society. It was stressed during the newly-closed 10th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 10th National People's Congress that truly solving the problem of agriculture��rural areas and farmers should be put above all the works of importance and should be closely, firmly and appropriately attended to with an unremitting effort. As an important function sector of the state how will the finance earnestly carry out various financial agriculture-supporting policies and measures according to the relevant arrangements of the Central Party Committee and the State Council so as to ensure the benefits of the farmers? The reporter had an interview with Jin Renqing, Minister of the Ministry of Finance with regard to this question.

People's Daily Reporter: Minister Jin, once you said: "Let the sunshine of public finance shed over all the rural areas". What were your considerations when you mentioned this?

Jin Renqing, Minister: The essence of "Let the sunshine of public finance shed over all the rural areas" is to gradually put the affairs of the government at all levels within the scope of financial expenditure in the development of agriculture, rural areas and farmers. Without the well-off of the nine hundred million farmers the country as a whole cannot be considered as prosperous and without the stable life of these farmers the stability of the whole country is hard to be achieved. If the nine hundred million farmers cannot get a well-off life the moderate prosperity for the whole country is but an empty talk. To actively implement the scientific viewpoint of development we must conscientiously study and solve the problem of agriculture, rural areas and farmers and make every effort possible to reinforce the agriculture, develop the rural areas and enrich the farmers.

Currently there still exist many contradictions and problems in China's agricultural and rural development. The foundation of agriculture is still fragile and the increment for farmers has gone difficult. The financial departments must have an overall view of the situation. According to the requirement of balanced urban and rural development, it has to lay the stress on solving the problem of agriculture, rural areas and farmers by giving it a prominent position and a vigorous support and it must realize two transforms in way of thinking. The one is to realize the transform from rural areas supporting urban areas to urban areas nurturing rural areas and second industry nurturing primary industry and the other is to adjust the distribution structure of public financial resources, realizing gradually the covering of public finance over rural areas and leaning toward rural areas. Financial investment should be raised in agriculture, rural areas and farmers.

PD reporter: "Giving more, taking less and loosening control" is the important guideline put forward by the central government to deal with the problem of agriculture, rural areas and farmers. What kinds of measures will the state finance adopt to truly carry out and put into effect this guideline?

Minister: First, "giving more" is to conscientiously increase the investment on agriculture, rural areas and farmers. Financial expenditure structure should be gradually adjusted and a steady-increase mechanism for supporting agriculture from financial expenditure should be established. This includes further increasing financial investment in agricultural infrastructure construction, forestry ecosystem construction, agricultural technology advancement, farmer training, agricultural product quality and safety system construction, comprehensive grain production capability construction, agricultural disaster and poverty relief and newly-increased public expenditure such as in education, healthcare and culture should mainly be used in rural areas, with national debt project funds also leaning toward agriculture, rural areas and farmers etc. In the meantime we should conscientiously carry out and further improve policies such as direct subsidies to grain-growing farmers and high-quality grain seeds.

Second, "taking less" is to collect less taxes and fees from farmers. The key is to continue to deepen the reform of rural taxes and administrative charges, eliminate taxes on all special agricultural produces and gradually reduce the rates for agricultural taxes with agricultural taxes to be cancelled in five years. No tax and administrative charges specifically directed at farmers will again be raised in the future. We will further enforce the supervision over the collection of charges involving farmers so as to lighten the burden on farmers. Meanwhile we should conscientiously do a better work to settle and dissolve rural debts; actively and steadily push ahead the reform of township institutions, the reform of rural compulsory education system and supporting such reforms as the reform of county and township financial systems in order to consolidate the foundation of farmer burden alleviation.

Third, "loosening control" is to enliven the market and increase income. As far as finance is concerned we should vigorously create easy policy environment for agricultural structure adjustment, rural areas construction and farmer income increase.

PD reporter: Premier Wen Jiabao said in this year's Report On the Work of the Government that the government would call off the agricultural tax in five years. As the leading person in the State Council Agricultural Taxes and Administrative Charges Reform Working Group, can you make a comment on how to ensure the smooth implementation of this strategic arrangement?

Minister: First is to strengthen taxonomic guidance, help the local areas implement well the reform plans. Provinces that carry out the experimental reform of agricultural tax cancellation should explore new experience in pushing ahead and supporting reforms and appropriately handle relevant leftover problems.

Second, finances at various levels should step up the support to reform. They should strive to increase revenue and reduce expenditure, adjust and optimize expenditure structure, actively raise funds and increase transfer payment to the grass-root level so as to ensure that the elimination and reduction of agricultural tax rates won't affect the operation of grass-root governments and the sound development of public undertakings, such as education in rural areas. The central finance will give proper subsidies to the local areas where elimination of taxes on special agricultural products, exemption of agricultural taxes and reduction of agricultural tax rates cause decreases in revenue, and the priority will be given to main grain-producing regions and the central and western China

Third is to earnestly study new situations and new problems that emerge from further function transform of grass-root governments, improve and standardize rural area management and rural distribution relationship after the elimination of agricultural taxes; to make relevant preparation in advance so as to ensure the smooth implementation of the important reform objective, that is, the elimination of agricultural tax.

Forth is to reinforce policy propaganda training and conform the thinking of the cadres and the general public to the spirit of the central government decision; to step up forcefulness in supervision and checking and uncompromisingly correct out-of-line behaviors so as to secure for farmers the full benefits brought about by the policy.

PD reporter: Could you make a comment on this year's situation in regard of the implementation of agricultural tax reduction and elimination policy in various localities?

Minister: Currently the situation of agricultural tax reduction and cancellation in various localities is like this:

First, apart from Jilin and Heilongjiang, the two grain-producing provinces which were designated for implementing experimental agricultural tax elimination reform, Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Zhejiang and Fujian also decided of their own accord to eradicate agricultural taxes while Tibet Autonomous Region has always been pursuing a policy of no agricultural and pastoral taxes. Besides, some other provinces (regions and cities) and some counties (cities) as well have also decided on their own to call off agricultural tax.

Second, eleven grain-producing provinces (regions) including Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Liaoning, Shandong, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Anhui, Henan, Hubei, Hunan and Sichuan and Guangdong province reduce agricultural tax rates by three percentage points.

Third, other provinces reduce agricultural tax rates by one percentage point.

PD reporter: What are the key points and difficulties in the next step for tax and administrative charges experimental reform in rural areas?

Minister: Now the experimental reform of rural tax and administrative charges has entered the problem-tackling stage. The crucial points and difficulties are to do a good job on various supporting reforms. We should, through transforming township government function and streamlining the administrative structure and personnel, establish a capable and efficient administrative management system and an operation mechanism so as to ensure the effective operation of grass-root governments; we should continue to push ahead the reform on rural compulsory education management system, consolidate and perfect the rural compulsory education operation system that focuses on the county level, strengthen the funds security mechanism that features government investment and accelerate the reform on education administrative management system so as to ensure the healthy development of rural education undertaking; we should promote the reform on financial management system at the county and township level, further adjust the scope and structure of financial expenditure, establish standard financial transfer payment system and perfect public financial system. Meanwhile we should appropriately dissolve township and village debts according to the general guideline, that is, "stopping new debts, finding out the real amount, pinpointing responsibilities, taxonomic treatment for gradual digestion"; we should differentiate between the situations before and after the tax and charges reform and appropriately handle the problem of agricultural tax and charges balance due.

PD reporter: Grain security is directly linked to the security of national economy and the lasting stability and durable peace. As an important function department of the state in macro-control, what policies and measures will the Ministry of Finance adopt to encourage grain production?

Minister: In addition to the 30 billion yuan increase in expenditure on agriculture, rural areas and farmers in the central financial budget this year as compared to 2003, the Ministry of Finance is vigorously acting to implement a series of policies and measures aimed at increasing grain production and is making every effort to increase grain production and farmer income.

First is to push ahead the work on grain direct subsidies in a comprehensive way. There are altogether 29 provinces (regions and cities) nationwide, which have implemented direct subsidies to grain-growing farmers totaling 11.6 billion yuan with 0.6 billion farmers benefiting from it. Second is to actively participate in mapping out a procurement floor price plan. We have determined on the principle that the central financial budget would bear the necessary expenses so as to ensure that the policy would be truly implemented and give assurance to the rice-growing farmers. Third is to increase the subsidy funds for the high-quality seeds of the early-season rice, middle-season rice and the northern japonica rice. Until now we have appropriated more than 1.2 billion yuan subsidy funds for the high-quality seeds of rice, wheat, corn and soybean etc. to 13 main grain-producing provinces and regions. Forth is to decide on the policy that the comprehensive agricultural development funds are used chiefly in main grain-producing regions and all the fund investment in improving agricultural production conditions will be free of charge. Fifth is to actively support and stabilize the prices of agricultural production means in financial and tax policies.

This is an article carried on the sixth page of People's Daily on July 12 and translated by People's Daily Online