July 31, 2024 -- The Zuun Salaa village in Zaruud Banner, Tongliao City, of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, lives on farming and animal husbandry. However, the traditional methods of animal husbandry have limited the economic and social development of the village. How did the local administration build a new system that brought profits for the whole village, while promoting the integration of urban and rural development? Our reporters visited the local cooperative to learn more.

In 2013, in order to address the backwardness of the village, Wu Yunbo, secretary of the village party branch, pushed the villagers to develop a collective economy. He set up a professional cooperative of cattle farming, and persuaded all the villagers to join in and become a shareholder – with the shares being land, cattle or capital.

HEXIGETU, Villager of Zuun Salaa Village "Before the establishment of the cooperative, we really couldn't make much money by raising cattle ourselves. Now, we practice centralized farming, which is more modern and the cattle is raised better. The annual income has increased by about 50,000 to 60,000 yuan."

WU YUNBO, Secretary of the Zuun Salaa Village Party Branch "Our village was established more than 70 years ago. The grassland area has not changed over the years, but the population is increasing. The traditional business model is definitely not feasible, so we decided to adopt a centralized business model – to make people's income go higher and higher."

In recent years, the cooperative has also built a steak-cutting workshop and a beef jerky processing factory – which have extended the industrial chain. As of now, the total assets of the cooperative have reached 70 million yuan, and accumulated dividends have touched 12 million yuan.

WU YUNBO, Secretary of the Zuun Salaa Village Party Branch "At first, we only raised cattle, and gradually discovered that we were losing money. But the people had already joined the cooperative. If we closed down, then the losses would be bigger. So, we came to the decision to engage in deep-processing."

Today, the cooperative has opened 13 direct-sale beef stores and 1 hot pot restaurant across the country – forming a full industrial chain from breeding to catering – and successfully created a new livestock management system. People in Zaruud Banner and Tongliao City have gradually joined the industrial chain and cooperative.

WU YUNWANG, Resident of Zaruud Banner, Tongliao City "I used to be an ordinary office worker, and it was difficult to support a family of three with the money I earned in a year. After only six months of joining, I earned the same amount of money that I would have earned in two years of work before. Within four years, we bought a house in Zaruud Banner."

The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China pointed out that it is necessary to consolidate and improve the basic rural management system, as also to strengthen, benefit and enrich farmers. The development of the Cattle Breeding Cooperative in Zuun Salaa village is undoubtedly one of the models. This profitable industry not only gives villagers greater property rights and interests, but also promotes the coordinated development of urban and rural industrial and supply chains, thereby narrowing the urban-rural gap.