BUILDING A MODERATELY PROSPEROUS SOCIETY IN ALL RESPECTS

- Poverty Reduction: Xi Jinping’s Statements and Chinese Path

全面建成小康社会：习近平扶贫论述与中国特色减贫道路

1 National Poverty Alleviation Awareness and Education Center. State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development

2 Research Center for Rural Social Development and Management, Department of Social Work, Huazhong Agricultural University

Abstract: After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the Chinese people have been struggling against poverty amid national development under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC). Since reform and opening up, in particular, China has planned for and organized development-oriented poverty reduction practices on a broad scale with remarkable achievements and blazed a new path of development-oriented poverty reduction with Chinese characteristics. This path is both an essential component of Chinese socialism and a result of the CPC’s ideological improvement on poverty reduction. Since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, the whole Party, country, and society have been called upon to fight the battle against poverty on a full-scale under the guidance of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important statements on poverty reduction, unveiling a new stage for China’s development-oriented poverty reduction in the new era. China’s unprecedented poverty reduction achievements have enriched the path of poverty reduction with Chinese characteristics. Xi Jinping’s insightful and coherent statements on poverty reduction represent the latest results of Marxist anti-poverty theories and comprise an essential part of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for the New Era. His guidelines are the basis for the brilliant achievements of China’s poverty reduction endeavors, and will contribute Chinese experience and wisdom to global poverty governance.

Keywords: poverty reduction path with Chinese characteristics, Xi Jinping’s statements on poverty reduction, poverty reduction ideas, battle against poverty

JEL classification code: P36P21

DOI: 1 0.19602/j .chinaeconomist.2020.01.01

The end of the World War II ushered in a new period for poverty eradication for humankind. Governments and international organizations undertook to fight poverty as their priority, giving rise to new anti-poverty practices and achievements globally. Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, poverty reduction has dominated the agenda of China’s socialist development and reform. By exploring a unique path for poverty reduction, China has contributed a significant share to world poverty reduction.

This paper aims to explain China’s poverty status, interventions, and guiding ideology for poverty reduction, which are essential for understanding China’s poverty reduction journey. Through its

revolutionary history and development practice, the Communist Party of China (CPC) has developed a poverty reduction approach in light of China’s national conditions, which is epitomized by Xi Jinping’s statements on poverty reduction. With this approach, China has achieved unprecedented progress in reducing poverty in the new era, offering valuable experiences worth referencing for other countries.

1. China’s Poverty Reduction Journey

Most academics divide China’s seven-decade poverty reduction endeavors into the following stages: (i) poverty reduction in the broad sense via socialist development from the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 to the dawn of reform and opening up in 1978; (ii) development-oriented poverty reduction since 1978; (iii) targeted poverty reduction since 2013 (Li, Yu, Tang, 2019). Some academics have identified three different stages of China’s poverty reduction practice, including overall institutional poverty reduction (1949-1985), regional poverty reduction via development (1986-2013), and targeted poverty reduction (2014-present) (Sun, Zhou, Hu, 2019).

Based on specific poverty reduction practices, these stages sketch an outline of China’s poverty reduction journey. Yet to some extent, these separate stages belie the continuity of China’s unremitting poverty reduction endeavors. As some researchers noted, China in Mao Zedong’s era effectively eradicated extreme poverty, paving the way for further poverty abatement in the post-reform era (Hu, 2012). In the new stage of targeted poverty reduction, the ongoing anti-poverty battle represents a deepening of poverty alleviation that started since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 in terms of both policy continuity and practical challenges.

For this reason, this paper argues that since 1949, China has embarked upon a continuous path of poverty reduction with a rational approach to achieving specific targets according to poverty status in various stages, and such poverty reduction is a “continuous national program” (Hu, 2012). This national program for poverty reduction features practices based on a combination of value rationality and instrumental rationality. Under the socialist ideals of common prosperity, the Chinese government identified poverty reduction targets, strategies, and policies across socio-economic development stages. China’s poverty reduction journey is, therefore, a process of improving national poverty governance in which the State sets the path for poverty interventions according to changing poverty status and national capabilities. It is also a historical process towards common prosperity in tandem with the unfolding ideological blueprint of socialism with Chinese characteristics. As General Secretary Xi Jinping rightly pointed out at the Central Work Conference on Poverty Relief and Development in 2015, “Our Party has led to people to fight a continuous war on poverty since the founding of the People’s Republic of China” (CPC Central Party History and Literature Research Institute, 2018).

In a longer historical framework, China’s poverty reduction campaign started after the century-long impoverishment and debility of the Chinese nation. China’s socialist reform and development led by the CPC since 1949 have served as an antidote to poverty that long plagued the nation. Upon the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, China was one of the poorest countries in the world, as reflected in its short average life expectancy. In 1950, China’s life expectancy was only 41 years, below the world average of 49 years (Maddison, 2007). In the stark reality of biting poverty, Chinese communists upheld the political program established in the revolutionary era, and launched massive and sweeping land reforms and socialist transformations of agriculture, handicrafts, and capitalist industry and commerce.

In the countryside, land reforms significantly eased poverty and laid an essential institutional and political basis for subsequent rural poverty reduction and development. In this stage, the goal of poverty relief was to address farmers’ basic survival needs and ward off starvation (Zhang, 2007). In 1958, China’s countryside entered into the Great Leap Forward and the People’s Commune era. In this period, the leftist policy caused rural development to fail in the economic sense. Yet rural collectivization also

led to significant progress in poverty relief at the subsistence level, rural basic education, and cooperative healthcare.

In 1978, the Chinese leadership broke away from ideological fetters and embraced the principle that “poverty is not socialism.” Since then, China has unveiled a new chapter of reform and opening up, and carried out a swathe of reforms to dissolve People’s Communes, establish the household contract responsibility system, and reform the unified purchase and sales system and rural commodity distribution system. These reforms have boosted the rural economy and slashed rural poverty (see Table 1).

In the post-reform era, farmers’ rising income led to a steep fall in China’s poverty incidence. Economic growth stemming from institutional reforms lifted the countryside from poverty and improved farmers’ welfare. Yet the “introduction of market mechanism and differences in natural and human resources endowments of farming households inevitably gave rise to inequality in the countryside” (Zhang, 2007). Meanwhile, poverty became more prominent in old revolutionary base areas, areas with large ethnic minority populations, border areas, and poor areas. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), there were still 125 million people in China without adequate food and clothing in 1985. In the mid-and late 1980s, therefore, it became natural for the Chinese leadership to enhance national poverty governance responsibilities and roll out targeted poverty reduction campaigns.

In 1984, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council released the Circular on Assisting the Transformation of Poor Regions, focusing on poverty relief in old revolutionary base areas, areas with large ethnic minority populations, border areas, and poor areas. “Due to differences in national conditions and policy implementation, imbalances still exist in the rural economy. In particular, we are yet to lift tens of millions of people out of poverty, and deliver adequate food and clothing to all the people” (CPC Central Party History and Literature Research Institute, 2011a). This Circular unveiled China’s mass poverty reduction campaigns. After 1984, the Party and government ramped up povertyreduction budgets, introduced a host of pro-poor policies, and adopted the principle of developmentoriented poverty reduction. In 1986, the State Council established the Steering Group for Economic Development in Poor Regions - the first special agency for poverty reduction in China and the predecessor of the Steering Group for Development-Oriented Poverty Reduction.

Officially released in 1994, the Seven-Year Priority Poverty Alleviation Program (1994-2000) called for mobilizing all human, material, and financial resources to lift 80 million rural populations out of poverty in seven years from 1994 to 2000. After the dawn of the 21st century, the central government

has introduced two poverty reduction guidelines based on the size, layout, and poverty status of poor populations across various stages, i. e., the National Program for Development- Oriented Poverty Reduction in Rural China for the period of 2001-2010 and 2011-2020, respectively.

The 18th CPC National Congress held in 2012 marks the beginning of a new era for socialism with Chinese characteristics and a new stage for development-oriented poverty reduction programs. Back then, China was yet to develop sound mechanisms for targeted poverty reduction, assign developmentoriented poverty reduction responsibilities, form poverty-reduction synergy, allocate sufficient poverty reduction funds, empower poor regions and populations, and provide targeted guidance and assistance according to local conditions (CPC Central Party History and Literature Research Institute, 2018).

Regarding these challenges, General Secretary Xi Jinping put forward new ideas and made new decisions on poverty reduction to usher in a new stage of targeted poverty reduction. As China moves into the final stage of the battle against poverty, the goal of eradicating absolute poverty is within reach, and the alleviation of relative poverty will replace the eradication of absolute poverty as the new priority. In October 2019, the Fourth Plenum of the 19th CPC Central Committee adopted the Decisions on Major Issues Concerning the Improvement of Socialist System with Chinese Characteristics and National Governance Modernization, which calls for “scoring a victory of eradicating poverty, consolidating poverty reduction results, and creating long-term mechanisms for addressing relative poverty.” This policy statement will guide China’s future poverty reduction programs.

Over the past seven decades, China has persistently updated its poverty reduction goals according to new poverty challenges while standardizing its national poverty governance system. Based on the identification of barriers to rural poverty reduction and development, the Chinese government has carried out rural reforms and poverty interventions in critical areas and improved policy instruments to increase the effectiveness of national poverty governance (Lyu, 2017).

2. Guiding Ideology for Poverty Reduction in China

Behind China’s poverty reduction achievements are continuous institutional innovations, increasing inputs, and improving poverty reduction concepts and guidelines. Since the 1920s, under the guidance of Marxism, Chinese communists have improved the theories and ideas for poverty reduction based on the reality of China’s revolution, development, and reform to achieve common prosperity. From a practical point of view, these ideas not only sum up China’s poverty reduction experience but form the theoretical basis for the Chinese approach to poverty reduction as well.

Carl Marx’s insights on poverty have underpinned the fundamental philosophy and methodology for poverty reduction in China. Carl Marx believed that in a new social system, “Productive forces will develop rapidly”, and the “Purpose of production is to achieve prosperity for all” (Marx, Engels, 1980). In his description of socialism, Frederik Engels also noted that “Our goal is to build the socialist system that offers healthy and rewarding jobs, abundant material life and leisure time, and real and sufficient freedom for all (Marx, Engels, 1965). In the Marxist view, the proletariat must escape exploitation under the capitalist production relations, and individuals must escape alienated labor to embrace “free and allround development.” Both are essential to solving the problem of poverty. Marxism has established the ideal of “common prosperity” for China’s poverty reduction endeavors and the goal of promoting people’s all-round development, which will continue to guide China’s socialist development and poverty reduction programs.

Under the guidance of Marxism, the CPC started to explore an anti-poverty path before the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, and adopted the revolutionary guidelines to abolish the feudal land ownership system, eliminate exploitation, and ensure farmers’ livelihoods. Mao Zedong blamed the semi-colonial and semi-feudal social systems as the root cause of poverty in old China. Based on this view, the CPC had carried out anti-poverty practices with land reform as the linchpin. By removing the

foundation of rural exploitation, the reform aimed to liberate rural productivity and entitle poor farmers to the fruits of their labor.

After the establishment of the socialist system in 1956, the CPC has put into place the systems of equality for all the people. Due to previous exploitation and oppression of imperialism and feudalism for a long time, however, China was still an extremely underdeveloped country mired in poverty and backwardness. With anti-poverty as a priority for consolidating and developing the socialist system, the CPC and the first-generation Chinese leadership after 1949 identified industrial development and collectivization as strategic visions for reducing poverty, calling for addressing China’s poverty issues in the context of socialist systems and exploring an anti-poverty path based on people’s interests. In light of China’s national conditions, Mao Zedong analyzed the root causes of poverty, and identified anti-poverty goals for the People’s Republic of China and steps and strategies for eradicating poverty under the CPC’s leadership and focusing on farmers, creating the institutional and philosophical basis for fighting poverty in the countryside.

Based on Mao Zedong’s thought, after reform and opening up in 1978, Comrade Deng Xiaoping further identified common prosperity as the intrinsic attribute of socialism. He said that the goal of poverty reduction is to deliver prosperity to all the people. Deng Xiaoping also argued that poverty is not correlated, nor even compatible, with socialism. “Poverty is not socialism, and socialism must eradicate poverty” (Deng, 1993). “The nature of socialism is to liberate and develop productive forces, abolish exploitation and polarization, and reach the state of widespread wealth for all people” (Deng, 1993). He called for reform, opening up, and development as an antidote to poverty. His statements on the nature and countermeasures of poverty comprise the philosophical framework for poverty reduction in China. Succeeding top leaders of the Party and the government, such as Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao, built upon Deng Xiaoping’s theory on poverty reduction, brought China’s poverty reduction programs to a higher level.

The 18th CPC National Congress in 2012 has ushered in a new era for Chinese socialism. In 2020, China is poised to complete the building of a moderately prosperous society in respects to achieve our Party’s first centennial goal. Yet poverty reduction remains a top priority for developing countries and the international community at large. The United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has identified the eradication of poverty in all its forms as the first goal, underscoring the significance of fighting poverty. In the new era, poverty reduction is blessed with new enabling conditions. From the strategic vision of rejuvenating the Chinese nation, General Secretary Xi Jinping has given great prominence to development-oriented poverty reduction in China’s national governance. His strategic decisions and arrangements on winning the war on poverty and statements on targeted poverty reduction have steered China’s poverty reduction campaign on a new journey and brought China’s poverty reduction philosophy to a new height.

Based on profound historical origin, experience, and deliberations, Xi Jinping’s statements on poverty reduction have developed into a coherent, problem-oriented theoretical system of thought, which identifies the goals, principles, and strategies for fighting poverty in China. In summary, this system of thought highlights the following eight principles: (i) We must score the victory in fighting poverty and build a moderately prosperous society in all respects; (ii) adhere to the Party’s leadership and enhance organizational assurance; (iii) follow the approach of targeted poverty reduction to increase effectiveness; (iv) ramp up pro-poor financial support; (v) mobilize all stakeholders and resources; (vi) follow strict requirements and make earnest efforts; (vii) rely on the masses and unleash endogenous momentum; (viii) work in concert to eradicate poverty and build a shared future for humankind.

Based on Marxist positions and methodologies, Xi Jinping’s statements on poverty reduction represent critical theoretical innovations of Chinese socialism that not only succeed Chinese philosophies on poverty reduction but present in-depth reflections on the achievements of China’s poverty reduction endeavors and challenges since the dawn of the 21st century. Unprecedented achievements of poverty

reduction since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012 lend evidence and empirical basis to Xi Jinping’s statements on poverty reduction.

3. China’s Poverty Reduction Policies and Practices in the New Era

Developments of poverty reduction guidelines have led to improving pro- poor policies and practices. The Chinese leadership has enacted a string of policies identifying the key stakeholders, methodologies, and target groups for poverty reduction, which yielded good results. In particular, the battle against poverty set in motion since the 18th CPC National Congress has achieved remarkable results. Xi Jinping’s statements on poverty reduction not only provide basic strategies for tackling difficulties and challenges in reducing poverty but will guide the direction of China’s future poverty reduction as well.

3.1 Improving Accountability

The National Program for Development-Oriented Poverty Reduction in Rural China for 2001-2010 and 2011-2020 have put into place an accountability mechanism for poverty reduction. Specifically, each level of government is responsible for development-oriented poverty reduction in its jurisdiction and must incorporate development-oriented poverty reduction into local social and economic development strategies and master plans. Local governments are responsible for achieving poverty reduction goals and subject to progress evaluation. Top Party and government leaders should stay in charge of poverty reduction with responsibilities shared among all levels of government, focusing on specific regions, villages, and households. In particular, the provincial governments must have the responsibilities, financial resources, and powers to ensure that counties in their jurisdictions implement poverty relief programs to help individual villages and households.

Since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, the Chinese government has created a poverty reduction working mechanism in which the central government is responsible for overall coordination, provincial governments stay in charge of poverty reduction in their respective jurisdictions, and local governments at city, prefecture, and county levels are responsible for implementing poverty relief programs. Assignment of responsibilities to specific officials with proper coordination provides solid assurance for winning the battle against poverty. In the Implementation Measures for Poverty Reduction Accountability released in October 2017, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council put forward specific poverty reduction requirements to the Party committees and governments of 22 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities in central and western parts of China, as well as relevant central state agencies.

The Measures call for clear poverty reduction accountability under the working mechanism of central coordination, provincial responsibilities, and city and county- level implementation. It also stipulates awards and penalties. Party committees and governments at all levels, the Poverty Reduction Steering Group, and relevant central state agencies may award departments and individuals with outstanding poverty reduction contributions. Such awards will enter into consideration in the appointment of cadres. Those who fail to perform responsibilities with negative impacts will be subject to penalties.

3.2 Implementing Targeted Poverty Reduction

Poverty identification strategies are determined mainly according to the regional distribution of rural poor populations. In the mid-1980s, the rural poor were concentrated in a few poor regions. In the 1990s, they started to migrate elsewhere. In the late 1990s, the dispersion of poor populations became more significant (Huang, 2016). In 1982, the Chinese government created the Steering Group for Agricultural Development in the Hexi, Dingxi, and Xihaigu Regions, which kicked off a mass campaign of targeted

poverty reduction focusing on these regions.

In 1984, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council issued the Circular on Assisting Poor Regions to include over ten contiguous poor areas into the scope of poverty reduction priorities (CPC Central Party History and Literature Research Institute, 2011a). In 1986, China started to identify “state-level poor counties” as priorities for development-oriented poverty reduction. An important methodology and successful experience in China’s poverty reduction is to identify priority countries and poor villages (Fan, 2012). Under the Seven-Year Priority Poverty Alleviation Program (1994-2000), the central government started to allocate poverty relief funds to counties. “Poverty relief funds, including central fiscal funds, loans, and employment programs, should give priority to the state-designated poor counties.” “Local governments should allocate funds to support sporadic poor villages and households in other non-poor counties” (CPC Central Party History and Literature Research Institute, 2011b).

After the dawn of the 21st century, the Seven-Year Priority Poverty Alleviation Program came to a successful conclusion. Yet the limitations of county-wide poverty reduction started to appear. “(i) The use of poverty relief funds is highly scattered since only half of poor populations lived in statedesignated poor counties; ( 2) the other half of poor populations outside the state- designated poor counties barely received any support of central poverty relief funds” (World Bank, 2001).

Given these realities and contradictions, the National Program for Development-Oriented Poverty Reduction in Rural China (2001-2010) began to target counties not designated as poor counties. “The State identifies areas with large ethnic minority populations, old revolutionary base areas, border areas, and deeply poor areas as priorities for development-oriented poverty reduction, and designated poor counties as priorities in these regions.” “Most poverty relief funds should be used to support poor counties, and an appropriate amount should also go to other poor areas” (CPC Central Party History and Literature Research Institute, 2011c).

Then, the National Program for Development-Oriented Poverty Reduction in Rural China (20112020) not only targets counties not designated as poor counties, but brings “villages” into the policy agenda as well. “We must strive to reduce poverty in key counties and poor villages outside contiguous poor areas. Original policy support to key counties should remain unchanged” (CPC Central Party History and Literature Research Institute, 2013). While the new program targets villages and households for poverty reduction, “despite falling poverty incidence scattered geographical distribution of poor populations add to the difficulty of lifting the remaining poor populations out of poverty.” “China should develop appropriate household targeting mechanisms for poverty reduction to benefit more people in poverty” (World Bank, 2009).

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping has called for targeted poverty reduction as the basic strategy in fighting the battle against poverty. Under this guideline, the Chinese government has taken extraordinary measures for targeted poverty reduction in villages and households. The central government has increased clarity in the goal of fighting poverty, recognizing the importance of targeting individual villages and households to eradicating absolute poverty. Precise identification is consistent with the distribution of poor populations in China and the goal of poverty reduction at a higher level; tt is also the first step for implementing targeted poverty reduction. For that, improved national poverty information network with poverty-relief big data has served as an enabler for fighting poverty.

3.3 Poverty Reduction Innovations

Over the past decades, China has steadily intensified poverty reduction efforts with better focuses, and introduced innovations in the means for reducing poverty. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, in particular, the Chinese government has adopted innovative models and pathways for targeted poverty reduction under Xi Jinping’s guidance.

Broadening livelihoods for the poor: Asset investments and ecological compensation programs have enabled the poor to participate in social and economic development, thus ensuring their social inclusion

and economic justice.

Empowering poor populations: Awareness programs have been carried out to encourage the poor to actively participate in anti-poverty practices and take upon themselves the responsibility for reducing poverty while receiving assistance.

Developing local economy in poor areas: In poor areas, industries, such as financial, e-commerce, photovoltaic, and tourism industries, have been fostered for the regional economy to thrive.

Based on China’s poverty governance system, these interventions contain numerous mechanisms and business models worth referencing for other countries.

3.4 Adopting the Most Stringent Criteria for Poverty Reduction Evaluation

In history, one of the reasons for poverty relief legislations to fail is that policy implementation tends to deviate from goals or violate basic policy principles. In the 1960s, the US government declared war on poverty. In a short period, the federal government enacted numerous social policies and legislations, many of which became repealed in the 1980s due to problems in implementation. Recognizing such dilemmas and risks, Xi Jinping stressed that “We should enhance poverty reduction evaluation by strict standards.” The enforcement of binding requirements has effectively prevented the risks of deviation from policy implementation, and better incentives have motivated policy enforcement agencies to ensure the achievement of targeted poverty reduction goals. In addition to designing a complete pro-poor policy system, targeted poverty reduction also calls for the supervision of policy actions to ensure proper implementation.

4. Brilliant Achievements of China’s Poverty Reduction Programs

With rapid and sustained economic growth since reform and opening up in 1978, China has lifted over 700 million people out of poverty, making an important contribution to global poverty reduction efforts. Since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, China has fought a battle against poverty on an unprecedented scale and made decisive progress in uplifting working and living conditions in poor areas for poor people, composing a new chapter in the anti-poverty history of humankind.

4.1 Eliminating Absolute Poverty

At a workshop on targeted poverty reduction in 2018, General Secretary Xi Jinping noted that “If we score the victory in fighting the battle against poverty in three years, the problem of absolute poverty that has existed over thousands of years in the history of the Chinese nation will be resolved in our generation” (CPC Central Party History and Literature Research Institute, 2019). By the end of 2018, China’s rural poor populations reduced to 16.60 million, down 83.39 million over the past six years. Rural poverty incidence decreased to 1.7%, down 8.5 percentage points over the past six years. China is about to eliminate absolute poverty in the countryside, where poverty used to be widespread, to become the first developing country to meet the United Nations poverty reduction target, contributing to over 70% of world poverty reduction achievements (NBS General Affairs Department, 2019). The remarkable poverty reduction achievements find expressions in both the number of people lifted out of poverty and the unprecedented speed of poverty reduction as well. By China’s current rural poverty line, the number of rural poor populations reduced by over 80 million from 2013 to 2018. Each year, over 12 million people were lifted out of poverty. Poverty incidence fell from 10.2% to 1.7%.

4.2 Expediting Development in Poor Regions

Poverty reduction programs have enlivened social and economic development landscapes in poor regions. Hefty infrastructure and public service investments have boosted local development by fostering industries with local advantages, substantially improved the environment, and led to better

quality of life for the poor. Poor counties saw their GDP grow faster than the national average by over two percentage points, and rural resident per capita disposable income in poor areas increased faster than the countryside average by 2.3 percentage points, resulting in smaller development gaps (NBS, 2019). In poor areas, industries with local advantages developed rapidly. New business models such as tourism, photovoltaic, and e-commerce have thrived from scratch. Ecological compensation, resettlement, and returning farmland to forest programs have greatly improved the ecological environment in poor areas, integrating ecological protection with poverty reduction. Broad and intensive inputs have uplifted rural infrastructures and public services in poor areas. With precise identification, assistance, management, and exit of poverty, the implementation of targeted poverty reduction strategies has significantly improved grassroots governance in poor areas.

4.3 Encouraging Public Participation in Poverty Reduction

Poverty alleviation programs play an important role in promoting public awareness about poverty and socialist core values and creating a more harmonious development environment. By assisting the western region in reducing poverty, the eastern region has expanded development space and lived up to socialist values to achieve common prosperity. Central state agencies are paired with poor counties to bring capital, projects, and new concepts, technologies, and markets to these counties. Such poverty alleviation programs also provide an avenue for state functionaries to know more about the countryside, get along with the masses, and develop valuable experience. In participating in poverty reduction, private companies, social organizations, and individuals contribute to harmonious social development.

4.4 Creating a Sustainable Poverty Governance System

Under the CPC’s leadership, the Chinese government has assigned responsibilities for targeted poverty reduction at all levels, stepped up policy coordination and financial and human resources inputs, and engaged all stakeholders to reduce poverty for poor villages, households, and individuals. The progress and results of poverty reduction are subject to all-round supervision and stringent evaluation. This institutional system is characterized by central coordination, provincial responsibilities, and city and county-level implementation. All levels of government from central to local have signed commitments of responsibilities with clear goals and responsibilities, focusing on implementation. These institutional arrangements contribute to China’s wisdom and the Chinese solution to the causes of world poverty reduction.

5. China’s Poverty Reduction Experience and Inspirations

Under the CPC’s leadership, the Chinese people have explored a poverty reduction path, and continue to build upon it. China’s poverty reduction generally offers experiences and inspirations worth referencing for other countries.

5.1 Combining Poverty Reduction Actions with National Development Strategies

China’s poverty reduction programs have been an integral part of China’s modernization drive and political and economic development since 1949. Poverty reduction in China, though guided by a series of special plans introduced since the 1980s, has always been closely related to China’s overall development strategies. According to the Decisions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council released in 1999, the most important experience of China’s poverty reduction is to “give great political and strategic prominence to development-oriented poverty reduction as part of the master plan for national and local social and economic development, enact pro-poor policies to address subsistence and development needs in poor areas, and raise funds to increase poverty relief inputs.”

In the Rural Development-Oriented Poverty Reduction (White Paper) released in 2001, China’s

poverty reduction journey is described as follows: “After the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, especially since reform and opening up in the late 1970s, the Chinese government has carried out massive development-oriented poverty reduction programs that are well-planned and organized to address the subsistence needs of poor populations, which have substantially alleviated poverty.”

The 18th CPC National Congress has put forward the goal of completing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects by 2020. As General Secretary Xi Jinping noted, we must address the weak spots in our social and economic development, which are the key determinants for achieving the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects. Although not everyone can lead a moderately prosperous life, a society cannot be convincingly prosperous in all respects if the rural poor experience no significant improvement in their living standards. Therefore, the Suggestions of the CPC Central Committee on the 13th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development identifies the poverty reduction for the rural poor as the basic symbol completing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects, calling for targeted poverty reduction to lift all poor populations and poor counties out of poverty and put an end to regional contiguous poverty.

5.2 Poverty Reduction Approach Must Match Poverty Conditions

Academics have identified a myriad of poverty manifestations and root causes in the context of social and economic development, as well as a wealth of poverty intervention pathways and means. Poverty is not just about the lack of food, clothing, and livelihood. Poverty intervention is also not just about the role of government in supplementing family and community functions, or creating development opportunities. Judging by the poverty reduction practice after the World War II, it can be found that a common dilemma for poverty reduction around the world is the mismatch of poverty reduction resources, projects, and results. Both development and protection-oriented poverty alleviation programs often did little to help the poor escape poverty and even led to a vicious cycle of poverty.

China’s targeted poverty reduction approach increases the achievements of poverty reduction by matching poverty reduction resources and methods against specific poverty problems, focusing on not only the amount of resources devoted to but the actual effects of poverty reduction. Such compatibility finds expression in the requirements of “precise recipients, precise project arrangements, precise use of funds, precise support to individual households, precise assignment of responsibilities to village first secretaries, and precise poverty reduction results.” These requirements cover the basic aspects of poverty governance and serve as the basis for policy design and local innovations. Inputs for poverty reduction resources, projects, and targets must precisely match with actual poverty conditions.

5.3 Poverty Targeting Must Coordinate with a Gradualist Solution to Poverty

Since reform and opening up, China’s development-oriented poverty reduction has taken on the trait of incrementalism. With increasing precision, China’s poverty reduction targeting has shifted from regions to households, and the concept of multidimensional poverty reduction has replaced regional economic development as the criterion for poverty identification. Target beneficiaries for poverty relief have changed from regions to specific points (Li, 2011). In other words, the target groups of poverty reduction programs changed from regions to poor counties, townships, and then villages and households, or a combination of them in some stages.

Despite its vital importance, poverty reduction targeting is only a means for poverty governance, and the precision of targeting does not equal to the extent to which welfare improves for the poor. The selection of target beneficiaries and methods of targeting did not always strive to increase the precision of targeting. Instead, target beneficiaries for poverty reduction changed over time according to the capacity of poverty reduction governance, the efficiency of poverty reduction targeting, and the coverage of poor populations. With a pragmatic attitude, Chinese policymakers have designed poverty reduction programs to improve the overall welfare of the poor as much as possible.