Abstract:

Chinese society is at the intersection of urban population increase and rural population decline; “rural China” is becoming an “urban-rural China.” To build a modernized socialist country, the most arduous and burdensome task still lies in rural areas. This paper systematically discusses the intrinsic relationship between the modernization of the rural population and Chinese-style modernization, analyzes the achievements and challenges of the high-quality development of the rural population, and explores the paths and mechanisms for promoting the high-quality development of the rural population. The high-quality development of the rural population and Chinese-style modernization complement and reinforce each other. The characteristics of the declining total population—the young (female) population and the rapidly increasing numbers of the elderly and those males who remain unmarried unwillingly—and the lower levels of education and life expectancy, are both unprecedented demographic changes. These are challenges that must be faced. To promote the high-quality development of the rural population and Chinese-style modernization, the focus should be on the connections between the “demographic dividend and talent dividend”, between “rural and urban areas”, and between the “family and society.” It is also necessary to place the rural population in a situation beyond rural space. This requires considering the importance of high-quality development of the rural population for modern civilization, the value of rural society for urbanization and modernization, and the vitality of the traditional agricultural culture in the context of modern civilization and the integrated development of urban and rural areas.

Key words: rural population, high-quality development, Chinese-style modernization