Xi's campaign to draw people back to greying rural China faces uphill battle

Farmer Liu Deke, 73, takes a smoke break next to rapeseed stalks at a field in Dongfeng village, Hunan province, China May 9, 2018. Picture taken May 9, 2018. REUTERS/Ryan Woo

SHUANGFENG COUNTY, China (Reuters) - Liu Deke, 73, puffed away on a roll-up as he threshed stalks of dried rapeseed on a large canvas sheet. Nearby, plumes of billowy smoke from burning stalks drifted across the rice fields.

It was a normal day's work for Liu and his wife, farmers in Dongfeng village in China's southern Hunan province. And like many others in rural China, their offspring have long ago moved to cities where wages far outstrip farming income.