Abstract: The integrated development of urban and rural areas is a long-term and arduous systemic endeavor. Only through continuous deepening of reforms and removal of institutional and systemic barriers can the urban-rural gap be gradually narrowed, thereby mutual prosperity and shared development between urban and rural areas can be achievved. This study provides an in-depth analysis of the current state of integrated urban-rural development in China, revealing a series of complex and severe challenges it faces: the institutional barriers of the urban-rural dual structure are deeply entrenched, centered on a dual social system with the household registration system at its core; the mechanism for the two-way flow of urban and rural factors is severely flawed; the task of achieving the equalization of basic urban and rural public services is arduous; and the industrial system in rural counties is underdeveloped, and structural imbalances in the rural population are pronounced. Accordingly, a series of targeted policy recommendations are proposed. It is essential to dismantle institutional and systemic barriers, break down institutional obstacles between urban and rural areas, and promote the free flow of factors. Public service provision must be optimized by unifying urban and rural public service standards and improving the quality and equity of public services. Development efforts should be coordinated at the county level to establish a new model of urban-rural synergy. Taking the county as the basic unit, integrated urban-rural development should be advanced through the implementation of an employment-first strategy, promoting the coordinated development of urban and rural industries within the county to achieve shared prosperity across urban and rural areas.

Key words: urban- rural integration, new type of urban-rural relationship, common prosperity