To narrow the widening developmental gap between China's urban and rural areas essential for the establishment of an all-round well-off society massive public spending on almost every aspect of rural development is required.

The latest call by the Chinese authorities for efforts to boost cultural development marks a welcome attempt to solve one of the less highlighted but nevertheless crucial problems standing in the way of the drive to build a "new countryside."

On Sunday, a government document was issued that urged efforts to meet the cultural needs of rural residents.

Some of the details it fleshed out may not appear particularly impressive when compared to billion-yuan promises to either scrap agricultural taxes or boost expenditure on the rural health and education systems.

For instance, by the year 2010, all villages consisting of more than 20 households that now have electricity will have access to TV and radio broadcasts. The government also aims to show a film every month in every village in five years' time.

In view of the nation's urgent need to increase farmers' income and so restore balanced development across the country, it seems these goals play second fiddle to many of the other ambitions laid out in the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-10) for economic and social development.

But for the country's 757 million rural residents, these small but concrete improvements will have quite an effect on their standard of living.

Rapid economic growth over the past quarter of a century has reduced the poor rural population from 250 million to 26 million, by 2004. But urbanization-driven growth has left vast rural areas in trouble.

Among the many challenges the countryside is facing, the main sticking point hindering cultural development relates to backward infrastructure for hosting cultural activities, insufficient cultural products and inequality in cultural development between urban and rural areas.

It is true that urbanization can considerably benefit farmers-turned-migrant workers who are usually better off than those who stay at home to work the land. It is also true that urbanization is the answer to the tremendous unemployment pressure in this country with a rural labour force of 480 million.

Yet urban economic growth should not come at the cost of rural development, especially from the perspective of public finance.

A shift in strategy towards balanced and sustainable development between rural and urban areas is being manifested by the government's latest attempt to build a "new countryside."

The benefits of increased government support for cultural development will be mostly enjoyed by farmers.

Cultural development, in itself, is a developmental right that rural people are entitled to.

More importantly, at the same time as improved education and healthcare provision, a culturally colourful life will encourage contributions to rural development through the pursuit of prosperity.

The experience of pilot rural co-operatives shows investment in cultural development may be the most efficient target of public spending in terms of raising the welfare of farmers.

Of course, enriched cultural living will not address all of the challenges that rural China faces. But farmers' happiness is essential to accelerating rural development.

(China Daily December 13, 2005)