Senior members of the Communist Party of China (CPC) will meet from October 9 to 12 in Beijing to discuss major issues about promoting reform and development in the rural areas.

The decision to hold the third Plenary Session of the 17th CPC Central Committee in October was made at Sunday's meeting of the CPC Central Committee's political bureau.

At Sunday's meeting, chaired by CPC Central Committee General Secretary Hu Jintao, political bureau members discussed issues about pushing forward rural reform and development as well as the bureau's work since the 17th Congress of the CPC and the First Plenary Session of the 17th CPC Central Committee.

They heard a report on opinions collected from both within and outside the party about a draft of the CPC Central Committee decision on major issues about pushing forward rural reform and development. The members decided to submit the draft to the central committee's plenum in October for deliberation after further revisions reflecting Sunday's discussion are made.

The political bureau members decided that the country must unswervingly push forward rural reform and development for the sake of social harmony. In this process, efforts must be made to consolidate and strengthen agriculture as the foundation of the economy and always make soundly solving the food issue of the more than 1 billion people the top priority in governing and maintaining security of the country.

The participants also reached consensus that China should continue sticking to the policy of relying mainly on domestic production to achieve grain self-sufficiency on the whole.

According to the meeting, the state will beef up support to and protection of agriculture, accelerate agricultural modernization, protect farmers' rights and interests, and promote innovation in rural development.

Economic and social development in urban and rural areas must be coordinated and efforts should be made to ensure farmers benefit from China's economic development, according to the meeting.

(Xinhua News Agency September 28, 2008)