Recently, the Postal Savings Bank of China (PSBC) has communicated and studied the " No. 1 Central Document") and the Guiding Opinions on How Finance Supports Rural Revitalization  (hereinafter referred to as "Guiding Opinions") jointly issued by the People's Bank of China, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, and the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and formulated the follow-up steps and measures. Focusing on the goals of industrial prosperity, ecological livability, rural civilization, effective governance, and affluence in life, PSBC should comprehensively strengthen the financial services in the field of “San Nong” (agriculture, rural areas and farmers), and push ahead with the “Five Major Projects” for rural revitalization.

A person in charge of PSBC says, the Bank will conscientiously implement the relevant requirements of the “No. 1 Central Document” and the “Guiding Opinions”, continuously increase the credit supply in the key areas of “San Nong”, actively support the agricultural supply-side structural reform. It will continue to improve the operation mechanism of its “San Nong” Financial Business Unit, accelerate product innovation, and promote process optimization. It will also reinforce its team building efforts, focusing on the improvement of the credit service capabilities of city-level and county-level branches. All in all, PSBC will work hard to support the rural revitalization strategy and facilitate poverty elimination, thereby making further contributions to the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects.

In 2018, PSBC improved the operation mechanism of the “San Nong” Financial Service Department, strengthened the management of “San Nong” financial services, and created a specialized service system for agriculture, rural areas and farmers. It issued PSBC’s Implementation Opinion on Comprehensively Supporting the Rural Revitalization Strategy, formulated the overall requirements and objectives for supporting rural revitalization from 2018 to 2020, and established a leadership group for supporting the rural revitalization strategy. Meanwhile, PSBC, jointly with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, issued Opinions on Strengthening Financial Cooperation in the Field of Agricultural Industrialization to Promote the Implement of Rural Revitalization Strategy in order to drive the high-quality development of agricultural industrialization, advance supply-side structural reform in agriculture, and gear up rural revitalization. By the end of 2018, the balance of agricultural loans of PSBC was 1.2 trillion yuan (about $178.8 billion), with an annual net increase of over 100 billion yuan (about $14.9 billion). The total amount of micro-loans granted was nearly 1.61 trillion yuan (about $240billion), serving more than 10 million rural families. The balance of - financial targeted poverty alleviation loans (including loans for those who had been lifted out of poverty) was 93.9 billion yuan (about $14billion), with an annual net increase of 32.3 billion yuan (about $4.8billion).

"As a large State-owned commercial bank, PSBC will effectively play its corresponding role in serving “San Nong” and deliver financial services to the last mile of rural areas, making agriculture stronger, rural areas more beautiful and farmers richer.” The person in charge from PSBC said. In the next stage, the Bank will give full play to its own strengths and push forward the “Five Major Projects” in supporting rural revitalization, namely, Agricultural Industry Upgrading Project, Beautiful Village Construction Project, Financial Targeted Poverty Alleviation Project, Credit Village and Township Construction Project and Financial Convenience Service Project.

In terms of boosting industrial prosperity, PSBC will push forward the Agricultural Industry Upgrading Project. It will support traditional agricultural production, vigorously assisting branded agriculture, featured agriculture, and scientific and technological agriculture. It will give support to agriculture industrialization, realizing the integrated development of primary, secondary, and tertiary industries and the integrated development of urban and rural areas. It will also support emerging industries and new forms of business in rural areas, exploring new modes and new models of rural Internet loans. Finally, it will give support to entrepreneurship and innovation in rural areas, vigorously assisting those who start businesses in their hometowns and villages and the bellwethers who lead farmers from poverty to affluence.

In terms of boosting ecological livability, PSBC will push forward the Beautiful Village Construction Project. It will support the green development of agriculture by increasing financial support for agricultural clean production, biological conservation and other projects. It will help improve the habitation environment in rural areas by strengthening financial support for waste and sewage treatment in rural areas and the Beautiful Village Construction Projects, etc.. It will also support rural ecological protection and rehabilitation by increasing financial support for rural water ecological rehabilitation, comprehensive land improvement and other projects.

In terms of boosting the affluence of life, PSBC will push forward the Financial Targeted Poverty Alleviation Project. It will continue to enrich suitable financial services and products for rural areas in the aspects of savings, wealth management and insurance. It will increase financial support in deeply impoverished areas such as the “Three Regions and Three Prefectures”--Tibet Autonomous Region, Tibetan regions in four provinces, southern parts of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province, Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province, and Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture in Gansu Province. It will combine poverty alleviation with willingness inspiration and education improvement, improve the production capabilities of the registered poverty-stricken households, build featured industries in poverty-stricken areas, and play an active role in infrastructure construction and livelihood projects in such areas.

In terms of boosting rural civilization, PSBC will push forward the Credit Village and township Construction Project. By consolidating multi-party forces, and taking the construction of credit villages and towns as the starting point, it will continue to promote the construction of rural credit system through. It will support featured rural culture industry and promote the traditional culture in villages. It will also support the construction of rural public cultural service system to enrich rural cultural life.

In terms of boosting effective governance, PSBC will push forward the Financial Convenience Service Project. It will support the projects of rural education, medical care, and elderly care to improve public services in rural areas. It will improve the coverage of basic finance in rural areas to provide more convenient financial services for rural residents. It will support rural transportation, water conservancy, energy and information construction to ensure and improve the living environment in rural areas.