Xi Highlights Grain Security and Rural Incomes Ahead of Harvest Festival

Ahead of the ninth Chinese Farmers’ Harvest Festival, Chinese President Xi Jinping extended festive greetings to the country’s farmers and rural-work personnel on behalf of the Communist Party of China Central Committee. According to official reports carried by state media, Xi highlighted that China's summer grain production reached a new record high, early rice yields remained stable, and the autumn grain harvest is promising. Xi called on party committees and governments at all levels to solidly advance comprehensive rural revitalization, enhance agricultural productivity, and broaden channels to increase rural household incomes.

The leadership's assessment of agricultural performance comes at a critical juncture as the autumn harvest gets underway. In China's macroeconomic planning, agricultural stability is treated as an essential ballast against external shocks and domestic economic friction. By publicly reaffirming harvest expectations and directing local cadres to execute agricultural support policies effectively, Beijing is signaling that national food security and rural welfare remain non-negotiable governance priorities.

On the eve of the ninth Chinese Farmers' Harvest Festival, Chinese President Xi Jinping extended greetings and congratulations to the nation's farmers and agricultural personnel on behalf of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, state media reported on September 22. Xi, who also serves as General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, reviewed the country’s agricultural output for the year. According to the state-run Xinhua News Agency, Xi stated that China’s summer grain output achieved a new record high, early rice production maintained stable yields, and the autumn harvest is promising. In his message, Xi instructed party committees and governments across all tiers of the administrative hierarchy to conscientiously carry out the decisions and deployments formulated by the Party Central Committee. He urged officials to solidly advance comprehensive rural revitalization, raise the operational effectiveness of policies designed to support, benefit, and enrich agriculture and rural residents, and place focus on enhancing integrated agricultural production capacity, product quality, and operational efficiency. Xi also underlined the importance of expanding the avenues through which rural households can raise their earnings and achieve prosperity. He instructed local authorities to build harmonious, beautiful countryside environments suitable for living and working, emphasizing that such rural construction projects must be tailored to local geographic and economic conditions rather than implemented through rigid, uniform mandates. The overarching objective, according to the official statement, is to make life happier and better for China's farming population. The annual harvest festival, celebrated on the autumn equinox, serves as an institutionalized platform for Beijing to reinforce its core policy orientation toward the rural sector. With autumn grain accounting for the vast majority of China's annual grain production, leadership statements issued around the festival carry significant weight in establishing expectations for domestic supply stability and holding provincial authorities accountable for agricultural targets.