On November 13th, the Workshop on Mobilizing Local Resources for a Harmonious Development of Rural Areas” was jointly held by the Research Department of Rural Economy, DRC and the Swedish Agency for Growth Policy Analysis (TA) in Beijing. Swedish participants from the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Industry, TA and other agencies gave presentations on the policies and programs in Sweden and Europe on how to fully mobilize local resources to promote the economic and social development. Chinese officials and researchers from DRC, Ministry of Agricultue, Research Office of the State Council, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Renmin University and China Agricultural University also introduced China’s policies to promote a harmonious development of the urban and rural areas and had a in-depth discussion with the Swedish guests. DRC Vice President Dr. Han Jun attended the workshop and delivered the opening speech. Mme Sun Lanlan, Director General of the International Cooperation Department chaired the meeting and Mr. Xu Xiaoqing, Deputy Director General of the the Research Department of Rural Economy gave speeches at the meeting. Before the workshop, the International Cooperation Department of DRC organized the Swedish delegation for a two day field study to Laiwu city of Shandong Province. The delegation visited the villege enterprises, farmers communities and had discussions with local officials and farmers associations, which greatly helped enhancing their understanding of China’s rural areas.