Box 6 The Supervisory System for Poverty Elimination Work

To strengthen supervision over poverty elimination work, China has established a comprehensive system of scrutiny that incorporates supervision from inside the Party, from other political parties, from the government, and from the public, effectively preventing falsification, embezzlement, and corruption.

Intra-Party supervision: Poverty alleviation has been made a target area of inspection tours. Poverty elimination work in 14 provinces and autonomous regions was covered on the first round of inspection by the 19th CPC Central Committee. On its second round of inspection, the Central Committee specially inspected work related to poverty elimination in 13 provinces and equivalent administrative units, and the Party committees of 11 central Party and government departments and two centrally managed financial enterprises playing key roles in poverty elimination.

Supervision by other political parties: Since 2016, the central committees of the eight non-CPC political parties have been entrusted by the CPC Central Committee to supervise poverty eradication work in the eight provinces and autonomous regions whose tasks were rather difficult. By going on field trips to these areas, these political parties have fulfilled their mission by supervising how poverty alleviation policies and measures were implemented there. This is the first time that the non-CPC political parties have supervised the implementation of a major national strategy; it is also their largest and longest-spanning supervision activity to date.

Inspection tours: Since 2016, the former State Council Leading Group Office on Poverty Alleviation and Development has organized supervision and inspection over poverty elimination work on a yearly basis, mainly over the work of the Party committees and governments of 22 central and western provinces and autonomous regions, and relevant central Party and government departments.

Audit supervision: The National Audit Office has carried out an annual follow-up audit of the implementation of policy measures and the application of funds in key programs, covering all 832 poor counties. The proportion of misused funds identified by audit dropped from 36.3% in 2013 to 1.5% in 2020.

Industry supervision: Government bodies in charge of development and reform, finance, education, housing and urban-rural development, health, healthcare security, and water resources have strengthened supervision over poverty elimination policies and measures, and the enforcement of tasks.

Public supervision: In December 2014, the government opened the hotline “12317” for reporting poverty alleviation problems and enabling public supervision. The hotline receives reports and complaints regarding problems in the management, allocation and use of poverty alleviation funds, problems in the implementation and management of poverty alleviation projects, and violations such as misappropriation, corruption and embezzlement. News media have also strengthened supervision, exposing problems in poverty elimination work and raising constructive suggestions.