In Miaojia Village, east China's Zhejiang Province, villagers rarely describe Lu Rongjie by his official title as chief of the local Communist Party of China (CPC) organization. Instead, they refer to him by the shoes on his feet.

The village Party chief is known locally as a "running-shoe cadre," a nod to his non-stop rounds and on-the-ground work style. During the day, when he's not in the office, he is usually out visiting the villagers.

"Villagers are the most straightforward. Their joys and worries are all written on their faces," Lu said. "So we must talk with them in person to spot their concerns and unresolved issues before they grow."

Lu's work style reflects a longstanding principle of the CPC: maintaining close ties with the people. This principle has shaped the Party's grassroots governance since its founding more than a century ago.

Under the leadership of the Party, China's rural areas have undergone tremendous transformations, securing a sweeping victory in eliminating absolute poverty in 2020 before embarking on rural revitalization.

None of these goals could be achieved without Party organizations in hundreds of thousands of administrative villages, said Huang Zuhui, an expert at China Academy for Rural Development of Zhejiang University, adding that they are the final link in turning blueprints like the five-year plans into reality.

A VILLAGE CANTEEN THAT BECAME COMMUNITY HUB

Village Party organizations are tasked with a wide range of affairs. After becoming Miaojia's Party secretary, Lu led the whole village to improve its environment, develop flower fields, build public spaces and explore new rural business opportunities. Yet he said rural revitalization cannot be judged by scenery, industries or revenue alone -- it must improve the daily lives of residents ultimately.

One problem kept appearing during his visits: elderly care.

Most elderly villagers chose to remain in Miaojia, but their working children could not regularly prepare daily meals. Seniors aged 60 and over make up nearly a third of the village, making convenient, affordable local dining a vital need.

Lu and the village Party organization began to look for a solution inside the village. In May 2024, the Miaojia Village canteen opened. The renovated building brought together a dining hall, a tea house, a rural auditorium stage and leisure spaces. Villagers can have meals, drink tea, watch performances, play chess and spend time with neighbors there.

The village allocated more than 200,000 yuan (about 29,000 US dollars) each year to subsidize meals for elderly people. Residents aged 70 and above can enjoy discounted meals, while those aged 90 and above can eat for free.

At the canteen's launch, 99-year-old resident Zhou Yinfang was among the first to eat there, praising the meal repeatedly. For Lu, that moment showed why the canteen mattered.

Beyond solving the daily dining difficulties of elderly villagers, the canteen helped complete the village's broader five-minute service network. Miaojia has rolled out a string of amenities, such as a supermarket, childcare facility, and cultural plaza.

The canteen also created a small local economic cycle. Run by the village collective, it employs local residents and sources ingredients from the village's shared-prosperity supermarket. The single public service facility thus delivers multiple gains: elder care support, local jobs, and revenue for the village collective.
RURAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP SUPPORT

In another village of Zhejiang, the story of rural revitalization began with rural space waiting to be rediscovered.

Lizu Village was once known locally as Shuiniujiao, meaning water buffalo horn, a name that reflected its old and remote image. It used to have limited industries, few visitors and little appeal for young people.

Today, Lizu has become known as a cultural and creative village, attracting entrepreneurs, designers, shop owners and youngsters who want to test new ideas in the countryside.

Behind these changes is a daily service system supported by village-level Party organizations and local operators. Local authorities renovate vacant homes, upgrade public areas, recruit entrepreneurs, match business demands with village resources, and back individual stores to join a unified village brand.

An open area in Lizu that used to be idle land was reshaped into an aesthetic farm with lawns, tents, outdoor weddings and camping activities, while a local pond once muddied and used by villagers to wash produce and clothes has undergone full restoration into an ecological scenic spot, with a dedicated eco-friendly laundry facility built nearby.

Bao Liping was one of those who came to Lizu to find business opportunities. At first, Bao was not sure whether her clothes shop would work, as the village was not a traditional commercial district and rural entrepreneurship could be unpredictable. However, the village environment combined with local support gave her a reason to try.

"A clean and attractive village is only the starting point. We want to continuously bring tangible and measurable gains for villagers," said Fang Haolong, Party secretary of Lizu.
CONNECTING FARMERS WITH TECHNOLOGY, MARKETS

Similar stories are unfolding elsewhere across China. In Meixian County of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, kiwi fruit cultivation has evolved into a full industrial chain connecting Party organizations, technical support, cooperatives, processors, and markets.

In the county, more than 2,600 Party-member technicians are working out in the fields to make the farming of this fruit easier for farmers.

With their assistance, fruit grower Zhao Junrong in Tianjiazhai Village can now check his orchard from home via a mobile phone application. On the screen, temperature, humidity and light conditions are all displayed in real time.

"In the past, farming depended on the weather. Now we look at the mobile phone app," Zhao said. "When to water and when to fertilize, the system understands better than people."
Wang Fang, a fruit grower in Zaolin Village, echoed this sentiment. "Previously, when I planted by myself, I worried about technology and sales," Wang said. "Now the cooperative handles all management and sales collectively. I only need to focus on farming."

In recent years, Meixian County has also introduced processing enterprises to boost the villagers' income from the fruit. Last year, a total of 18,500 tonnes of fresh fruit and processed products were sold to markets as far as Southeast Asia and Russia, with sales reaching 154 million yuan.

From Miaojia's community canteen, to Lizu's entrepreneurship, and to Meixian's kiwi orchards, China's rural revitalization unfolds through dedicated villagers, robust grassroots Party organizations, and the belief that the countryside will surely have an even brighter future.

In two consecutive days, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda has remarked on ties with China. He said on Friday the future of Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys in his post will depend on progress in two areas: Normalizing relations with China and "delivering on commitments made to Taiwan," Lithuanian media LRT reported.

A Chinese scholar argued that despite Lithuania's overtures for better bilateral ties, the remarks reveal an opportunistic mindset. By linking the foreign minister's political fate to both China rapprochement and pledges to the Taiwan region, the statement lays bare a fence-sitting approach and a lack of sincerity in improving ties with China.

"Certain results must be put on the table," Nauseda told reporters in Brussels, according to LRT. "If they are satisfactory, everything will be fine and I hope that Budrys will be able to continue in office. If not, then we will look at the matter differently."

The remarks marked the second time in two days that the Lithuanian president has underscored the importance of ties with China and voiced expectations for mending bilateral relations.

On Thursday, Nauseda has told the Bloomberg TV in an interview in Brussels that he expects to see the first results of the country's diplomatic outreach to China within the next six months, as the Baltic nation moves to mend ties with China following a spat over island of Taiwan.

A Chinese diplomatic scholar who requested anonymity told the Global Times on Saturday that Lithuania's eagerness to mend ties with China has become plainly evident. Having repeatedly provoked and crossed red lines over the Taiwan question in the past, the country is now trapped in a dual economic and diplomatic predicament. Its only way out lies in mending ties and deepening cooperation with China.

According to the scholar, the president's pressure on the foreign minister also reveals deep rifts within Lithuania's political establishment regarding its past anti-China policies. Current decision-makers have acknowledged that the previous path is untenable and intend to readjust their course.

Nevertheless, the expert pointed out that despite Lithuania's overtures for better bilateral ties, the remarks reveal an opportunistic mindset. Such fence-sitting tactics demonstrate a grave lack of sincerity and prove that the country still fails to grasp the full gravity of the Taiwan question.

According to LRT, recent criticism [on Budrys] has focused in particular on what some see as insufficient efforts to restore diplomatic ties with China, and on remarks Budrys made about NATO's potential to strike the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. The minister himself has said that relations with China are not currently his top foreign policy priority.

The Lithuanian government, in disregard of the Chinese side's strong objection and repeated dissuasion, approved the establishment of the so-called "Taiwanese Representative Office" in Lithuania by Taiwan authorities in August 2021. Under the one-China principle, any exchanges with China's Taiwan should be civil and non-official. By allowing the establishment of a "representative office" under the name of "Taiwanese," Vilnius has apparently reneged on the political commitments it made in the communiqué on the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Lithuania.

Since then, China has adopted a slew of legitimate, reasonable and lawful countermeasures including a diplomatic downgrade between China and Lithuania.

Over the past four years, economic and trade relations between China and Lithuania have experienced a "precipitous drop": Data showed that Lithuania's exports to China plummeted by more than 50 percent; pillar industries such as timber and dairy suffered heavy losses, with the century-old dairy company Rokiskio Suris also taking a hit; and the Baltic deep-water port of Klaipeda saw a sharp reduction in throughput due to the rerouting of China-Europe freight trains. It can be said that Vilnius has paid a heavy price for its strategic shortsightedness and political opportunistic actions.

In February this year, Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė said that she would be prepared to consider renaming an office set up by the Taiwan regional authority in her country, and she reiterated that the opening of the so-called "Taiwanese Representative Office" in Lithuania has "brought no benefits" from the region and has damaged relations with China, LRT reported.

"The Taiwan question is purely China's internal affair. Lithuania's wishful thinking of profiting from both the Chinese mainland and Taiwan is bound to end in vain," Chinese expert stressed. Only by abiding by relevant UN resolutions and basic norms of international relations, and firmly adhering to the one-China principle, can Lithuania bring bilateral relations back on track. Should it continue to gamble and play with fire on Taiwan question, Lithuania alone will bear all the consequences and losses, the expert said.