China is projected to roll out a slew of policies to upgrade its 1,866 counties and county-level cities into moderately well-off areas by 2025, according to a circular issued by the central government. About 30 percent of permanent urban residents, totaling 250 million by 2021, live in counties in the urban-rural fringe. These counties are supposed to reverse the trend of rural to urban migration of the past four decades. This year, fresh graduates unable to find jobs in big cities have sought career opportunities in counties, though still somewhat reluctantly. To sustain the fledgling talent pools, and more importantly share growth benefits for farmers, resources will be distributed to diversify and develop industries in counties.
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