Abstract: The sustainable economy development depends on the science and technology progress and the land and water resources. The former is a powerful lever and the latter guarantee the resources. Needless to say, the labor force is an important subject of the economic development. Based on the ecological footprint models, this study estimated the ecological footprint and carrying capacity of the rural areas in Xinjian, China during the period from 1990 to 2015, which represents the level of rural sustainable development, and used the VAR model to analyze the relationship between sustainable rural economy development and the agricultural total factor productivity, the ratio of the investment on science and technology to the total investment, the water resource utilization rate, the cultivated land resumption index, the transfer of labor force,and the labor transfer income. The results showed that the average resource per capita in the rural areas was increased,but the ecological population was decreased year by year. On the sustainable development of rural economy,the effect of science and technology investment was not obvious. The agricultural total factor productivity seemed to have a negative effect in short term, but in long term it has a great promoting effect. The water resources utilization rate had an inhibitory effect in short term, but in the long term, it has a catalyst effect. The cultivated land resumption index had the restraining effect in the long term. The labor force transfer and its corresponding income will promote the rural economy development in the short term, but it seems to have a restraining effect in the long run.

Key words: sustainable development of rural economy, Scientific and technological progress, Soil and water development, Labor transfer