China's Five-Year Digital Village Plan Emphasizes Smart Hardware and Rural AI Education

Summary of the Action Plan for High-Quality Development of Digital Villages (2026-2030)

Okay, here's what I've got from this IT Home report on the Action Plan for the High-Quality Development of Digital Villages (2026–2030), jointly issued by the CAC, MARA, and MIIT. IT Home reported on September 11 that the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA), and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) have jointly issued the Action Plan for the High-Quality Development of Digital Villages (2026–2030) today, and it focuses on expanding rural digital consumption. This includes efforts to enhance the quality and efficiency of county-level commercial systems, pushing for convenient services like online ordering with store pickup (BOPIS/click-and-collect), direct delivery of fresh produce, and advance booking of agricultural supplies.

The report highlights initiatives aimed at supporting the introduction of new energy vehicles (NEVs) and green, smart home appliances into rural areas. There's also an encouragement for enterprises to develop smart software and hardware products that are tailored to the needs of rural life. They are also continuing the district and county-level campaigns themed "Digital Consumption Boosting Rural Revitalization." Furthermore, the plan will focus on improving consumer protection mechanisms for digital consumption within counties to ensure a safe and trustworthy environment.

Key points include deepening the application of the National Smart Education Platform for Primary and Secondary Schools, with a push to extend high-quality educational resources to rural and remote areas. The plan emphasizes the deep integration of artificial intelligence with rural education, encouraging qualified rural schools to deploy and apply smart education terminals, educational AI agents, etc., in an effort to advance general AI education. They plan to implement actions to improve teacher development through digitalization, aimed at improving digital literacy and skills for rural teachers.

The document also outlines a plan for steadily promoting digital empowerment in rural governance. This involves the intensive application of digital tools for rural governance and promoting innovative models like "Digitalization + Grid." It calls for a crackdown on illegal activities within rural areas, including telecommunications and online fraud, online gambling, and illegal financial activities, all done in accordance with the law. The report mentions a continued focus on 'Qinglang' (Clear and Bright) special operations to cultivate a healthy online public opinion environment. The plan also emphasizes the improvement of the mechanisms for supplying "Internet + Public Legal Services" and "Smart Public Legal Services," so that farmers have easy access to top-notch legal services.

IT Home reported on September 11 that the Cyberspace Administration of China, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology jointly issued the Action Plan for the High-Quality Development of Digital Villages (2026–2030) today (September 11), proposing to expand rural digital consumption. The plan seeks to advance the quality and efficiency of county-level commercial systems, and develop convenient services such as online ordering with in-store pickup, direct delivery of fresh produce, and advance reservations for agricultural supplies.

IT Home learned from the Plan that it proposes supporting the rollout of new energy vehicles and green, smart home appliances to rural areas, and encouraging enterprises to research and develop smart software and hardware products tailored to the needs of rural life. It calls for continuously carrying out district- and county-level tour campaigns themed "Digital Consumption Boosting Rural Revitalization." It also urges improving the rights protection mechanisms for digital consumption at the county level to create a safe and reassuring rural digital consumption environment.

The plan also proposes deepening the application of the National Smart Education Platform for Primary and Secondary Schools and promoting the extension of high-quality educational resources and services to rural and remote areas. It advocates the deep integration of artificial intelligence with rural education, encouraging qualified rural schools to deploy and apply smart educational terminals and educational AI agents, and advancing general AI education. Furthermore, it outlines implementing actions to empower teacher development through digitalization, thereby enhancing the digital literacy and skills of rural teachers.

In addition, the plan proposes steadily advancing digital empowerment in rural governance. It emphasizes the intensive application of digital tools for rural governance and promotes the innovative adoption of models such as "Digitalization + Grid." It calls for thoroughly cracking down on illegal and criminal activities in rural areas in accordance with the law, including telecom and online fraud, online gambling, and illegal financial activities. It also urges sustaining the "Qinglang" (Clear and Bright) special operations to foster a sound online public opinion environment, while improving supply mechanisms for "Internet + Public Legal Services" and "Smart Public Legal Services" to facilitate unimpeded access for farmers to high-quality legal services.