Campaign to bolster fight on poverty

Vice-premier says efforts should focus on most pressing issues

China will formulate a three-year guideline on a national poverty reduction campaign and wage a war against corruption in the sector between 2018 and 2020, according to a national meeting that ended on Friday.

The year 2018 is a key year for fighting poverty, and improved measures are called for to win the “tough battle”, said Vice-Premier Wang Yang, who presided over the threeday meeting on poverty reduction and development.

He stressed the importance of focusing on areas and households severely hit by poverty, and said efforts should be focused on the most urgent issues facing the poor, so as to enhance their sense of fulfillment.

The vice-premier also demanded prioritizing poor regions in the implementation of the rural vitalization strategy.

Wang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, is head of the State Council Leading Group of Poverty Alleviation and Development.

China has set a goal to complete the building of a “moderately prosperous society” in all respects by 2020, which requires the eradication of poverty.

To do that, China needs to bring more than 10 million people out of poverty every year.

A three-year guideline will be formulated to provide a continuous and stable policy environment to carry on the war against poverty, according to a media release of the meeting.

All provincial governments will have to sign letters of responsibility with the central government on their povertyrelief targets for 2018, and special poverty groups such as the elderly, disabled and those with serious illness will receive stronger assistance, the release said.

The CPC Central Committee has also decided to launch a three-year special campaign to crack down on corruption and bad working style in the poverty relief sector, according to the release.

Lei Ming, director of the Institute on Poverty Research at Peking University, said these measures show the central government’s determination to eradicate poverty by 2020.

He said the campaign against corruption in the sector will enhance the capability of poverty relief staff so that good policy can be transformed into tangible benefits.