Sustainable Rural Development in Northern China: Caught in a Vice between Poverty, Urban Attractions, and Migration

Abstract

For a long time, the majority of China, which has the world's largest population, has been immobile and lived in rural areas. However, over recent decades, with the economic rise of China, rural labor has demonstrated a trend of moving to rapidly industrializing regions in search of higher income and better employment opportunities. Along with the labor cutback, out-migration introduces negatives to the sustainable development of rural areas, i.e., depopulation, the abandonment of rural settlements and agricultural lands, and the aging of the population, among others. Due to the threats of labor outflow to sustainability, studying the causes of China's rural out-migration can reveal lessons on how state policies can be designed to reduce the negative impacts of out-migration on rural communities. The purpose of this paper is to identify the major causes of migration movements among the rural areas of northern China that are considered to be the best-performing among the provinces of the country in terms of rural development, agricultural production, and the wealth of rural dwellers. A two-stage survey of a panel of experts involved: (1) respondents representing government officials and universities of the Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaoning provinces and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and (2) regional and district levels of administration, and research and public establishments of Heilongjiang Province. In stage three, drawing on the authors' own survey of 128 rural households in three counties of Heilongjiang Province, the major migration drivers have been identified, and the portfolio of a typical rural migrant has been developed. Some of the key findings are that migration intentions are fueled by the rural-urban income gap, poverty, a reduction of demand for labor in rural areas, underdeveloped infrastructure, the low quality of social services in rural settlements, and the low social standing of rural dwellers. The approach allows monitoring the dynamics of migration attitudes as responses to the policy interventions that are aimed at the sustainable development of rural areas.

Does Rural–Urban Migration Improve Employment Quality and Household Welfare? Evidence from Pakistan

“…People move to the urban sector as developing economies shift from the agricultural sector to the manufacturing and industrial sectors. Reasons for migration include trade, searching for safer locations, sustainable livelihood options, and capacity-building [3]. Due to the absence of social safety nets and rural livelihood support programs, rural workers frequently move to confront these difficulties on their own [4].…”

Social Innovation for Food Security and Tourism Poverty Alleviation: Some Examples From China

“…Natural conditions are the major issues undermining food security in China. The climatic conditions and geography often restrict agricultural production, particularly in the Western provinces where the majority of people live below the poverty line ( Nath et al, 2015 ; Tianming et al, 2018 ). Additionally, poor natural conditions coupled with natural disasters weaken the local grain production.…”

“…For example, improved access to information has had a significant impact on small-scale farmers across rural China where poverty levels have dropped by 20% between 2017 and 2019 ( Ishangulyyev et al, 2019 ). E-commerce is probably one of the most powerful applications of ICT in food production and distribution ( Tianming et al, 2018 ). Thus, increasing ICT capabilities is a form of social innovation which can range from establishing knowledge and information systems to increasing agricultural productivity or from accessing financial services to using ICT in farmer organizations.…”

The Impact of Perceived Value on Farmers’ Regret Mood Tendency

“…In some developing countries, such as China, resettlement can be affected by the gap in environmental conditions among the regions. For example, Gao et al [25] identified the factors for the inter-regional immigration in China. They suggested that the income gap, poverty and a reduction of demand for labor in rural areas are the driving forces behind immigration.…”