Profile: Liu Yonghao, a native of Chengdu in Sichuan province, graduated with a degree in Electronics from the Sichuan branch, class of 1979. He is a senior engineer, and board chair and president of the New Hope Group, chair of New Hope Investments, chair of Sichuan New Hope Agriculture, chair of Shandong Liuhe, a supervisor with Minsheng Life Insurance, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), and deputy director of Economic Committee of the CPPCC.

He has served on the standing committee of the CPPCC, as vice president of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, and vice chair of the China Society for Promotion of the Guangcai Programme (GSPGP), among other positions. From December 1995 to July 2006, he was vice chair of China Minsheng Banking, and as of 6 April 2020, Liu Yonghan and his family, worth more than CNY 105 billion, ranked 70th on the Hurun Global Top 100 List of the world's wealthiest entrepreneurs.

As an agricultural leader, Liu Yonghao, a member of the CPPCC and board chair of New Hope Group, will submit 6 proposals to the national Two Sessions. A journalist with China Economic Times has noticed that five of the six are closely related to agriculture and rural areas, covering training, the live-hog industry, corporate support, cold-chain transportation, and other topics.  

According to Liu Yonghao, training will be needed in rural areas to meet the needs of their revitalisation. This will include encouraging rural people to remain in the countryside and to take up training relevant to local economies, encouraging enterprises to promote such education, and cultivating leaders capable of enhancing rural prosperity.    

Currently, the live-hog industry consists of numerous smallholdings incapable of guaranteeing supply. Liu Yonghao believes that long-term planning is required to reform the production base in this industry, bringing in a sustainable industrial transformation.

The industry requires a commercialized breeding system that integrates production, research, breeding and propagation with mastery of core technologies, including subsidies for major R & D and extension projects implemented as quickly as possible. Land should be set aside for breeding, with protection against African swine fever put in place there and at current pig farms, and international exchange of ideas and technology should be promoted.

Private enterprises should also be encouraged to become involved in rural revitalisation by supporting rural industrial development. This would include soliciting public input and creating models of rural revitalisation through industry.

Liu Yonghao also indicated that “the first mile” issue of selling village products is one of the hardest nuts to crack in China’s current agricultural development. His proposals include construction of a “digital warehouse”, support for cold-chain logistics, and the construction of refrigerated storage.

The success of poverty alleviation leaves China needing to consolidate its achievements on behalf of further rural revitalisation. This is also the focus of the NPC deputies and CPPCC members at the Two Sessions. Liu Yonghao’s five proposals will be delivered to the relevant departments, and he hopes they will play a positive role in promoting the sound development of the industry.

Reprinted by the OUC News Network from China Economic Times