Poverty Knocked Out

China has realized its ambitious goal of eliminating absolute poverty throughout the country by the end of 2020 ahead of schedule. On November 23, the government of Guizhou Province in southwest China approved nine of its counties, the last of China’s 832 poor counties to be lifted out of poverty, to be removed from the list of poverty-stricken counties.

As the world’s largest developing country with a population of 1.4 billion, China has long been committed to fighting against poverty and bringing benefit to all its people, leaving no one behind.

Eliminating poverty is an ongoing worldwide challenge, as well as a great concern for the entire global community. Of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals listed at the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all the UN member states in 2015, the first goal is “no poverty.” The latest data released by the World Bank shows there are about 670 million people worldwide who are living in poverty.

But poverty is not a monster that cannot be defeated. Where there is a will, there is a way. China’s anti-poverty campaign is driven by people’s wellbeing. According to China’s guideline on winning the battle against poverty, the criteria for poverty alleviation include adequate food and clothing, a guarantee of nine-year compulsory education for children, basic medical needs and housing.

After the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China was held in 2012, China adopted targeted measures in poverty alleviation, indicating an elevated phase in its anti-poverty program. The measures achieved effective progress. The impoverished population reduced from 98.99 million in 2012 to 5.51 million at the end of 2019, with more than 10 million people being lifted out of poverty every year. By November, the remaining 5.51 million people have also shaken off the shackles of poverty.

China not only focuses on its domestic development in the process of fighting against poverty, but is also concerned about reducing poverty worldwide. After the UN Sustainable Development Summit in 2015, China established the China-un Peace and Development Fund and South-south Cooperation Assistance Fund; China also earnestly implements the 100 poverty reduction programs announced at the High-level Roundtable on South-south Cooperation, and promotes various poverty-alleviation cooperation projects with the world’s developing countries, especially African countries. By the end of 2019, China had assisted the building of 24 agricultural technology demonstration centers in Africa, benefiting more than 500,000 local people. In addition, more than 100 sessions of poverty alleviation training had been held to prepare nearly 3,000 poverty alleviation professionals to assist in 116 developing countries.

China has secured a victory in the fight against absolute poverty, but the efforts of easing relative poverty will continue. In the coming years, it is important to ensure people who have been lifted out of poverty do not fall back into those circumstances. CA