Cooperatives founded by farmers will soon enjoy legal status as Chinese legislators gathered Saturday to discuss a draft law to better protect farmers' business interests.

"How to help rural household better combat natural and market risks in business operation and connect small and sporadic household businesses with domestic and international markets are major issues in facilitating agricultural and rural economic development," said Li Chunting, member of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee.

The draft law on farmers' professional cooperatives was presented to the legislators for the first deliberation, as household business, major backbone of China's rural economy, has become ever vulnerable when facing more and more competitive market.

Currently, China has no law or administrative regulations defining the legal status of rural cooperatives, which in turn fail to obtain government registration to guarantee their daily operation.

Source: Xinhua