Xi Announces Elimination of Absolute Poverty

Chinese President Xi Jinping announced at a ceremony to recognize people that had made a great contribution to China's poverty alleviation campaign that the country had achieved its goal of eliminating extreme poverty by the end of 2020.

China's national poverty standard for 2020 is set at annual per capita income of 4,000 yuan (US$588). Xi said that 98.99 million impoverished rural people, 832 impoverished counties and 128,000 impoverished villages were lifted out of poverty.

After the conference, a think tank under the State Xinhua News Agency published a report called Chinese Poverty Alleviation Studies to share China's poverty alleviation experience with the world. The report attributes China's victory to the government's guidelines on poverty alleviation, including keeping the Party's leadership, adhering to the principle of “People First,” making joint efforts among government departments, and specialized measures for targeted alleviation.

The Xinhua report said the guidelines focus on building a beneficial market system where those in poverty are encouraged to release their productivity and the government plays a big role in ensuring the balance and efficiency of resource distribution.

Experts said the government's next objective is to eliminate relative poverty which is concentrated in rural areas and requires a more extensive standard package that includes measures on education, medical care, housing and the environment.