Village CEO a rising career goal in China's rural development quest

An aerial drone photo taken on March 22, 2024 shows a view of Yong'an Village in Yuhang District, Hangzhou City, east China's Zhejiang Province. (Photo by Hong Yunfeng/Xinhua)

HANGZHOU, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- A recent job advertisement offering stable income for village CEOs in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, has gone viral online, spotlighting this emerging career amid the country's rapid rural development.

The advertisement, posted by Yuhang District in Hangzhou, is seeking six village CEOs. The job offers an annual base salary of 180,000 yuan (about 25,023 U.S. dollars), along with benefits including social insurance and a housing fund. By comparison, the average annual salary for public sector employees in urban China was 120,698 yuan in 2023.

Applicants must be aged 40 or younger, possess a bachelor's degree or higher, and have a minimum of three years' experience in fields such as business management and investment and financing, the advertisement reads.

Since the application process started on Nov. 14, over 90 candidates have formally expressed their interest, according to Yu Huafen, an official with Yuhang's agriculture and rural affairs bureau. Applicants will undergo both written exams and interviews as part of the selection process.

Moving to the countryside is becoming an increasingly popular trend among young people in China, as rural areas undergo rapid development driven by the country's rural revitalization efforts. As a result, the role of Village CEO -- also known as agricultural manager, has emerged as a promising career choice.

Like a CEO overseeing a company, a village CEO is responsible for various aspects of a village's agricultural and economic activities. In 2019, village CEO was included among 13 new professions published jointly by China's Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the State Administration for Market Regulation and the National Bureau of Statistics.

Yuhang has been among the pioneers in promoting the village CEO initiative in China since 2019. "Our goal is to bring in fresh talent, and apply modern corporate management practices to drive the development of village economies," Yu noted.

To date, Yuhang has employed 34 village CEOs, with an average age of 36. These CEOs have facilitated a total of 122 projects, attracted 299 million yuan in investments, and generated more than 100 million yuan in revenue for the local economy.

Liu Song, a village CEO originally from the eastern Anhui Province, has been working in Yong'an Village in Yuhang since 2020.

Having grown up in a rural area, Liu graduated with a bachelor's degree in agriculture from Zhejiang University. With prior experience in three listed companies and a background in entrepreneurship, he was determined and qualified to create opportunities in challenging environments.

Yong'an Village spans a total area of 7.09 square kilometers, with 97 percent of the land designated as permanent basic farmland, which has limited its development opportunities outside the agricultural field. Historically considered underdeveloped, the village has struggled due to a lack of funds, skilled professionals and business opportunities.

To address these challenges, Liu focused on integrating the agricultural, industrial and service sectors to enhance the local economy, maximize growth and boost overall competitiveness.

Liu in 2022 helped establish a family farm cooperative, cultivating over 1,300 mu (about 86.67 hectares) of rice in the village.

In September 2024, Liu spearheaded the founding of a rice processing factory, producing rice wine and marketing it through e-commerce. Over the past two months, more than 6,000 orders of rice wine have been fulfilled.

Thanks to such efforts, the village, with a population of 3,100, achieved an average annual income of 63,000 yuan per capita in 2023. Last year, Liu earned a total income of around 300,000 yuan -- including bonuses and performance incentives.

Liu is one of many village CEOs dedicated to revitalizing rural areas across China. Incomplete statistics show that, as of the end of 2023, the village CEO recruitment and training program had expanded to 125 counties, cities and districts across provinces such as Zhejiang, Guangdong and Yunnan.

"Rapid development and transformation of economy and society have combined to redefine urban-rural relations, bringing the value of the countryside into focus," said Li Xiaoyun, chair professor of China Agricultural University.

"The village CEO initiative bridges the knowledge and management gap in rural areas, supporting China's rural development in the new era," Li noted. "These professionals are playing crucial roles in rural revitalization."