Only 300 days are left for China to eradicate absolute poverty as promised, and the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is posing more challenges to reach the goal. With such daunting difficulties ahead, a symposium on securing a victory in poverty alleviation held on Friday demonstrated that China is resolved and confident in completing the world's biggest poverty-relief project.
The Chinese government has decided to lift all rural residents living below the current poverty line out of poverty by 2020. For seven consecutive years, China had lifted more than 10 million people out of poverty annually. By the end of 2019, 5.51 million people were still living in poverty, but none of them will be left behind on the nation's way to become a moderately prosperous society in all respects.
Friday's symposium showed that the top leadership is fully aware of the difficulties in the final push, including the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak, industrial weakness and undesirable working styles of bureaucrat and practices of formalities for formalities' sake as exposed in some places.
It is based on the precise identification of these real problems that the government takes effective countermeasures to ensure substantive and sustainable outcomes.
As mapped out at the symposium, China will focus more on the poorest regions, prevent the risk of some people returning to poverty, promote industrial development, create more job opportunities and strengthen evaluation and oversight over poverty alleviation efforts.
More efforts will be made to minimise the impact of the novel coronavirus epidemic on poor regions, featuring favourable policies, more financial support, enlarged sales of local products and enhanced coordination between the more prosperous eastern areas and less developed western areas.
By the end of this year, China will have lifted about 100 million people out of poverty, 10 years ahead of the goals set in the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to end global poverty by 2030.
Overcome virus to fight poverty: President Xi Jinping
President Xi Jinping stressed on overcoming the impact of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) to clinch a complete victory in the fight against poverty. Xi stressed that lifting all rural residents living below the current poverty line out of poverty by 2020 is a solemn promise made by the CPC Central Committee, and it must be fulfilled on time. He called for unremitting efforts on poverty alleviation, saying it is a tough battle that greater importance must be attached to in the final push.
