Storyline China's central rural work conference outlines roadmap for rural revitalization [Voice_over] Modernizing agriculture and rural areas, boosting grain production and raising farmers’ incomes were top priorities at this year’s meeting, aimed at advancing China’s comprehensive rural revitalization. The conference emphasized that modernizing agriculture and rural areas is key to China’s overall progress and the quality of its modernization. Grain production remains a major focus, with efforts next year aimed at stabilizing output of grain and oil products to strengthen China’s agricultural capacity. China marked another bumper harvest in 2025, with grain output topping 714 million tons, according to National Bureau of Statistics data, driven by increases in planting area and yield per unit. The conference also called for stronger agricultural policies to benefit farmers, improve rural living standards, consolidate gains in poverty alleviation and improve governance and social civility in rural areas. [Sound_bite] Dong Qiang, Professor, College of Humanities and Development Studies, China Agricultural University: "In order to promote modernization of agriculture and rural areas, emphasis should be put on enhancing production output and capacity, improving production and ecology and increasing both production and income." [Voice_over] The conference emphasized the need for technological breakthroughs and the application of scientific advances to safeguard China’s food security. With over 128 million hectares of farmland, advancing rural revitalization is no small task — but technology can make a difference. Emerging tools such as gene editing and artificial intelligence are developing rapidly, with science and technology now contributing more than 63 percent to the agricultural sector, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. [Sound_bite] Dong Qiang, Professor, College of Humanities and Development Studies, China Agricultural University: "Scientific and technological achievements should not be confined to journals or research departments — they should be truly applied in the field to benefit farmers. I believe China’s transformation of agricultural science and technology achievements has been significantly upgraded." [Voice_over] The year 2026 marks the starting point for China’s next Five-Year Plan. Strengthening agriculture will be a key priority. Experts say the meeting has set a clear tone for steadily implementing tasks in agricultural sector, laying the groundwork for continued advance of Chinese modernization. [Restrictions: No access Chinese mainland]