城乡收入差距是一个自然历史过程。缩小城乡收入差距是治国理政的必然选择，根本路径是在遵循客观规律的基础上，通过治国理政过程来抬高差距的底部和削平差距的顶部。抬高差距底部是减少或者消除绝对贫困，主要是提高农民收入水平，消除农村绝对贫困；既抬高差距底部又削平差距顶部，就是减缓两极分化，扎实推进共同富裕。我国缩小城乡收入差距与脱贫攻坚、迈向共同富裕是正相关的。实证研究表明，与国家实施精准扶贫战略（2012—2020年）一致，城乡绝对收入差距的底部呈逐步抬升趋势，意味着我国逐步摆脱绝对贫困；预测研究表明，在新时代新征程，城乡相对收入差距将呈现底部与顶部逐步收窄的态势，缩小城乡相对收入差距是推进共同富裕的重要路径。

The urban-rural income gap forms in a natural historical process. Narrowing the urban-rural income gap has become an inevitable choice of governing the country. The fundamental way is to follow objective laws to raise the bottom of the gap and trim the top of the gap. While to raise the bottom means to reduce or eliminate absolute poverty, mainly to raise the income level of farmers and eliminate absolute poverty in rural areas, both to raise the bottom and trim the top means to slow down polarization and solidly promote common prosperity. Narrowing the income gap between urban and rural areas is positively related to poverty alleviation and common prosperity. The empirical research shows that the bottom of the absolute income gap between urban and rural areas is gradually rising and meanwhile China is gradually getting rid of absolute poverty, which is consistent with the implementation of the national targeted poverty alleviation strategy (2012-2020). We predict that the relative income gap between urban and rural areas will gradually narrow in the future and this will act as an important path to promote common prosperity on the new journey in the new era.