Why China stresses common prosperity

Why Zhejiang

The per capita disposable income of urban residents in Zhejiang has ranked first among all provincial-level regions for 20 consecutive years, and 36 consecutive years for rural residents.

Zhejiang launched the "Shanhai Xiezuo" project, namely cooperation between coastal and mountainous regions, in 2002, using the advantage of developed coastal regions to help the underdeveloped mountainous areas. It is one way to reduce the regional gap and promote coordinated urban and rural development.

Lai Lianfeng from Pushan village witnessed how her hometown donned a new look over the past decade, as investment and projects were brought in by Xiaoshan district of the provincial capital Hangzhou to improve public infrastructure and support rural industries.

Lai started the agritainment business in 2019 by renting out her farmhouse, which brought her an annual income of 26,000 yuan (about $4,000).

Benefiting from these supportive policies, many villagers managed to maintain a stable financial income at home instead of having to eke out a living elsewhere.

As a key indicator of balanced development, the income ratio between urban and rural residents in Zhejiang fell to 1.96:1 last year, much lower than the national level.

"Zhejiang's exploration of paths to common prosperity amid high-quality development is conducive to setting an example nationwide," said Liu Yuanchun, vice president of the Renmin University of China.