Rural basic financial services still need to be strengthened, and weak links urgently need to be shored up
The "Thousand Villages Survey" is a large-scale social practice and social research project of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics that takes "agriculture, rural areas and farmers" issues as its research object. This year's theme is "Coverage and Use of Rural Basic Financial Services." The results of this survey show that China's rural financial penetration is closely related to the level of economic development, and financial inclusion work in economically underdeveloped areas urgently needs to be strengthened.
According to Liu Liya, chief expert of the "Thousand Villages Survey" and executive vice dean of the School of Finance at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, the survey covers issues such as the service coverage of rural financial institutions and farmers' use of traditional financial services, emerging financial services and insurance. The survey was conducted using a combination of random sampling at designated sites and surveys by students returning to their hometowns. Starting in 2013, the "Thousand Villages Survey" implemented designated-site surveys, with each county (city) corresponding to 2 towns and 4 villages, all covering relatively wealthy as well as relatively poor towns and villages. Starting in July this year, 840 survey teams composed of 30 supervising teachers and 1,418 students set out for villages across the country to conduct rural finance questionnaire surveys.
Tan Ruyong, associate professor at the School of Finance, found in a survey of Ceheng County, Guizhou, that the loan-to-deposit ratio of rural credit cooperatives in two Bouyei townships exceeded the regulatory red line of 75%, that "agriculture, rural areas and farmers" had a strong thirst for funds, and that local rural credit cooperatives had not become a "water pump" draining rural funds. Su Fang, associate professor at the School of Finance, found in a survey of Wushan County, Sichuan, that local rural financial penetration was low, farmers' financial awareness and insurance awareness were relatively weak, and insurance participation was low.
Liu Yongming, Party secretary of the School of Finance at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, said that China's rural areas are vast and highly varied and are undergoing profound changes, and that the "Thousand Villages Survey" plays an important role in bringing people into close contact with rural areas and helping them understand farmers. Only by going deep into rural areas can one truly understand "agriculture, rural areas and farmers" issues and understand the significance of the state's various policies benefiting farmers.