| The unbalanced development between rural and urban areas is a universal problem of many countries when society develops and economy takes-off, it is and in long-term will be a highlight issue for many scholars and governments. Currently, main developed countries have finished industrialization and urbanization, the transformation on their economic and social structures from dualistic to monistic were achieved, that is how a harmonious state of development is in existence. However, most of the developing countries are still in the process of industrialization and urbanization, a dualistic structure on rural-urban relation is common, and it becomes a challenge for sustainable development of the developing countries on their economy and society.China as the largest developing countries in the world is experiencing industrialization and urbanization, its rural-urban relation is significant for the development of the country. After the founding day, Chinese government administrated rural and urban areas separately by using the dualistic domicile system, the people’s communes system and the policy of the price scissors on agricultural and industrial products. Gradually, a rural-urban dualistic structure has formed and solidified. Then, after the reform and opening-up, China has made enormous achievements economically and socially; the rural-urban dualistic structure showed loosening signs, but under the influence of current policies and the market, rural and urban disparities did not shrink, quite oppositely, they are expanding.The16th National Congress of Communist Party issued rural-urban co-development plan. A series of policies in agriculture and countryside development were executed after it, such as the abolishment of agricultural tax, promotion of agricultural investment, enhancement of rural social welfare allocation, and relocation and re-employment of agricultural labor force, etc. Aftermath, national test-runs and field works were made on the rural-urban co-development (hereafter refers as the co-development) plan, and for integrating rural and urban economic and social development. At the same time, new problems and obstacles were discovered; therefore, a systematical study on the co-development is needed.This paper is based on rural-urban co-development theories, emphasized on economic mechanism and its index system. By analyzing the co-development economic mechanism, clearing macro-micro level of rural-urban developing regularities and pathways, theory-guidance was offered for future relevant practices and field works.Through studies on the co-development index system, a new evaluation system that suits our nation was promoted. In addition, assessments and analyses were performed on the new-century rural-urban relation evolution in China.Combined with the co-development mechanism and field work feedbacks, by using the previous foreign and national experiences, a strategic framework, practicable pathways and suggestions on policy-making of current Chinese rural-urban co-development were proposed. Preliminary, a theory system and a policy framework were established. All in all, this paper analyzed issues as followed.Firstly, it discussed rural-urban co-development concept. Systematic analysis was performed on the background, traits, and meanings of the co-development concept. This paper believed that rural-urban co-development has to be viewed from the perspectives of national economy growth and society development; agriculture and industry should be considered as an interdependent and collaborating unity; countryside and city as an interconnected and mutual promotional unity; moreover, farmers and city residents as a co-developing, and equaled unity. The writer believes, by the execution of innovative mechanisms, rural-urban dual structures will be eradicated, and the resources distribution between city and countryside will be optimized. It is why an interactive and fair rural-urban relation and developing environment should be formed.Secondly, analysis of the co-development theory mechanism was established. This paper believes that the co-development mechanism is a general term which contains every major participants, the influential factors and links on rural and urban relations and development. On the developing process, by inducing and enforcing the involved main bodies in rural-urban relations to change, the disparities between two will be reduced, and conflicts will be resolved, therefore, a more balanced and integrated mode of co-development will be achieved. From the macro and micro view, the co-development mechanism can be divided as market adjustment and government control, two parts. If viewed on the micro level, mechanism designing should focus on the equilibrium configuration of resources. The right pathways should be on more investment and less taking, loosening-up on central control, industry helping agriculture, and cities supporting countryside. This clarifies the spatial mechanism on rural and urban areas. If viewed on the macro level, mechanism designing should focus on building and maintaining a unified basic public infrastructures and services. The right pathways should be on merging rural and urban infrastructure construction and public services. This clarifies the public supplying mechanism on rural and urban areas. Therefore, the spatial mechanism and public supplying mechanism are the core elements of rural-urban co-development. By strengthen the spatial mechanism, the leading role that city has on countryside will be enhanced; and a bidirectional, orderly and positive resources exchange and flowing mechanism will be established. By strengthen the public supplying mechanism, urban and rural infrastructure construction and public services can be equalized, and the living and productive disparities among rural and urban residents will be reduced. Namely, through systematical analysis on the co-development mechanism, a theoretical base was built for further work on strategic developing framework, executive pathways and policy-suggestions.Thirdly, a rural-urban co-development index system was constructed. This index system is composed by data of rural-urban disparities on residents’ livelihood, investment on permanent assets, human capital, and hygiene-health conditions. In addition, further analysis was performed the co-development field work in the new century China, the whole evolution process of rural-urban relation was discovered. To conclude from the research, during year2000-2004, the co-development in China was declining, and rural-urban disparities were increasing; however, after year2004, the co-development index was continuously climbing, indicated that the co-development plan issued is effective.Fourthly, the formative background and reasons of the national dualistic structure on rural-urban relations was revealed. Lengthways, this paper evaluated the evolution process of China’s rural-urban relation. From three aspects of industrial policies, resources allocation, and national income distribution, the origin and history of the dualistic structure was studied. The writer believes that the major problems exist in China’s rural-urban relation are:the ill-matched proportion of agricultural outputs and the proportion of employment, the low agricultural productivity, and the distant rural and urban revenue and consumptive level. To deal with the relations, challenges remain on:negative influence on labor transfer and urbanization brought by the fast growth of heavy industry, it has weakened the driven on employment; low-quality urbanization, it has slowed the process of agriculture modernization and the industrialization; thin-base on agriculture, it has hardened the modernization of agriculture. By understanding the problems and challenges better, targeting policies and suggestions can be made.Fifthly, studies on the co-development strategies and policies nationwide and from foreign countries were finished. On a lateral comparison, this paper illustrated and combed rural-urban relations and development plans on the first industrialized America, industrialized Japan, newly industrialized Korea, and industrialization in processed India and Brazil. Using the method of comparative analysis, this paper found that:above all, government should play a leading role on the co-development process; then, the fundamental position of agriculture should be strengthened, namely, to enhance the supporting role of modernized agriculture in China’s industrialization and urbanization; Furthermore, relying on the scale of industrial development, pushing forward urbanization and industrialization on parallel; in addition, use government-control adjusting rural-urban, and industry-agriculture relations, meanwhile, highlighting legislation, ensuring every step of the co-development is fair and square; and last, gradually transferring countryside labor forces to cities and industry.Sixthly, conclusions were made after field researches, by collecting data, feedbacks and experiences. The author went to Chengdu City in Sichuan Province, Chongqing City, Xinxiang City in Henan Province, Wujin District of Changzhou City in Jiangsu Province to research and data searching. Aftermath, the following conclusions were made:overall, regional coordinated development should be insisted; then, planning before layout should be enforced; more, nurture the distinguish characteristics of the pillar industries, and strengthen the territorial economy; furthermore, respect farmers’choices, to ensure positive changes on their livelihood and living conditions; and finally, to construct resource exchange platforms for countryside and cities. This paper has summarized many proper and useable policies from the research areas covered the following aspects:finance, budget, land-use, and labor force.Ultimately, this paper raised a strategic framework, executive pathways and suggestions on policies. Targeting the pre-existing problems, follow the basic thoughts and paths of rural-urban co-development, this paper promotes a general goal for the integration and co-prosperity of countryside and cites. And a new strategic framework for the co-development in China was established, by focusing on industrialization, urbanization, and modernization of agriculture, using the links and connections of territorial economy, advocating reforms on the current household registration system, and by abolishing rural-urban dualistic structure. Moreover, from six aspects, including land-use and management, development planning, labor and employment, social security, public infrastructure and services, choices of development path and suggestions on policy-making were addressed.This paper presents three innovative points:first of all, it promotes a new analysis in theories, from both the micro and macro-level; it discussed and researched rural-urban spatial mechanism and public investment mechanism. Further, it established a new economic mechanism for rural-urban co-development, and enriched the relevant theoretical research.Then, this paper constructed a rural-urban co-development evaluation system, including data of rural and urban disparities in living standard, public investment, education, and health-hygiene levels. More, by performing the principal components analytic method on the data, rural-urban co-development index was calculated, which fertilized the theories on rural-urban co-development quantitative assessments.Last, it is on research methods, by integrating theoretical analysis and field research, using economic mechanism, evaluation index system, and foreign and national research results, a systematical rural-urban co-development strategic framework, a path-choosing method, and a new way of thinking were raised. All has made the research results more objective, and the suggestions more targeting and practical. |
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