2023 Current State of Rural China

The article’s analysis is well-rounded. The main issue today is that people’s money primarily goes toward buying homes in counties. While county-level consumption has been modernized to match cities, incomes haven’t kept pace —透支ing future potential. In other words, they’re becoming modern-day “bond servants.” Throughout history, large groups of people have always supported small elites. The absence of formal slavery doesn’t mean other exploitative forms don’t exist.

Farmers move to counties mainly for two reasons: their children’s marriage prospects and the centralization of education and healthcare resources in county areas. They’re virtually forced into urban migration, yet earn low incomes. Their limited funds are mostly swallowed by daily living costs (county prices have risen to match big cities) and social etiquette expenses, leaving almost nothing saved. Put simply, rural families have extremely low capacity to absorb financial risk.

Hu Kexin: Chinese Rural Areas Are Undergoing a Life Revolution