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News> Nation> Content
Wednesday, October 17, 2018, 18:20
Xi urges efforts to win battle against poverty on schedule
By Xinhua
Wednesday, October 17, 2018, 18:20 By Xinhua

In this Jan 24, 2017 photo, Chinese President Xi Jinping visits the home of a villager in Desheng village, Xiaoertai Township of Zhangbei county in north China's Hebei province while pushing for increased efforts on poverty alleviation. (LI TAO / XINHUA)

BEIJING - Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged redoubled efforts to win the tough battle against poverty on schedule.

China should hold fast to the goal of poverty relief and work harder for a victory in the battle, Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, stressed when giving instructions on poverty reduction work as the country observes the fifth National Poverty Relief Day, which falls on Oct 17 every year.

READ MORE: China's poverty relief progress hailed at international forum

This is the largest number of counties to shake off poverty since China vowed in 2015 to win the tough battle against poverty, bringing the total number of counties removed from the poverty list since then to 153

The State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development announced on Wednesday another 85 counties have been officially taken off the country's list of impoverished areas, marking further steps toward its goal of eradicating poverty by 2020.

This is the largest number of counties to shake off poverty since China vowed in 2015 to win the tough battle against poverty, bringing the total number of counties removed from the poverty list since then to 153.

"This is an important achievement in the decisive stage of fighting the tough battle against poverty," said Xia Gengsheng, deputy director of the office.

The 85 counties, from nine provincial regions, went through assessments from third-party institutions before being removed from the list.

Seventy-four of them are in the country's less-developed western regions, and 25 are in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, more than any other provincial region.

A county is removed from the list if less than 2 percent of its population lives below the poverty line, defined by a per capita annual income of 2,300 yuan (around US$333) at 2010 prices. In the country's western regions, if less than 3 percent of the people live in poverty, the county will be removed from the list.

"Removing the 85 counties from the poverty list was in line with local economic and social development. The decision can stand tests and is recognized by the public," Xia said.

He called for continued poverty relief policies and efforts in these counties.

READ MORE: UN sees China's poverty reduction strategy key for future prosperity

Poverty reduction has been high on the government's agenda and various means have been adopted, including e-commerce, relocation and improved infrastructure.

Over the past five years, more than 68 million people have been lifted out of poverty, including a total of 8.3 million relocated from inhospitable areas, and the poverty ratio has dropped from 10.2 to 3.1 percent, according to this year's government work report.

INFOGRAPHIC: Xi's remarks on poverty relief

The country aims to lift at least 10 million people out of poverty this year and eradicate poverty by 2020, the target year to finish building a moderately prosperous society in all respects.

The counties that have shaken off poverty have seen improvement in infrastructure, including water and electricity supplies, and decent growth in rural residents' per capita disposable income.

Authorities are planning to eliminate poverty in about 270 counties this year, 330 counties in 2019 and 70 in 2020

The quality of poverty relief work should be given priority over the schedule, he stressed.

The leading group office under the State Council will conduct random examinations on the counties being evaluated for poverty elimination to ensure that standards are not compromised.

Xia believes the country is able to realize the 2020 poverty relief goal as long as authorities stick to the current standards, fully undertake responsibility and intensify the targeted poverty relief work.

While the latest progress is encouraging, the remaining regions still in poverty are hard nuts to crack.

China has pledged to increase policy support in the future to eradicate abject poverty persisting in places such as the Tibet Autonomous Region and parts of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region as well as the provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan and Gansu.

The central government has arranged 12 billion yuan of additional funds this year to address abject poverty in these areas.  

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