CPC, turning 99, poised to achieve anti-poverty milestone

TARGETED POVERTY ALLEVIATION

From edges of deserts to deep inside the mountains, China has lifted more than 93 million people out of poverty in less than eight years.

Liu Yongfu, director of the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development, said the intensity, scale, and impact of this round of poverty eradication are all unprecedented.

Behind the success is the well-implemented "targeted poverty alleviation" Xi put forward in November 2013, according to Liu.

The key is to identify the right population, tailor poverty-relief programs to local conditions, and send appropriate resources and personnel to implement the programs, he said.

The village of Shibadong in central China's Hunan Province may shed light on how targeted strategies work. It was there that the concept was first put forward.

While daylily is the cash crop in Liuquan, poverty relief cadres sent to Shibadong found luck in kiwi fruit.

Rich in natural beauty and scenic landscapes, Shibadong is hobbled by a rugged terrain and scarce arable land. With the help of the government and private sector, villagers rented a plantation in a nearby township to grow high-quality kiwis.

Having tasted the sweet success of kiwi farming, the village ventured into other businesses: it partnered a company to sell bottled mountain spring water and began to develop rural tourism. Unique landscapes and ethnic Miao culture are a big draw. Tourists brought business to hotels, restaurants, embroidery and honey farming.

Shibadong is no longer poor. Last year, the average annual income of villagers reached 14,668 yuan (abut 2,100 U.S. dollars), more than eight times the figure in 2013.

Across the country, rural industries like the ones in Shibadong have helped many shake off poverty. Others have escaped poverty through relocation, ecological compensation, or education. Social security allowances were given to the sick, the disabled and others who could not work their way out of extreme poverty.

After the poverty reduction tasks are completed this year, the number of people lifted out of poverty since the 18th CPC National Congress is expected to top 100 million.

"There is no other country in the world that can help so many people get rid of poverty in such a short time. This means a lot to both China and the world," Xi said at the poverty reduction teleconference in March, adding that the unprecedented achievement demonstrates the political advantages of the CPC leadership and socialist system.

China's poverty reduction has drawn applause from home and abroad.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres once commended it as the greatest poverty reduction accomplishment in history.

Robert Lawrence Kuhn, a US expert on China, said China's poverty alleviation served as a good example for the world's other developing countries to draw experience from.

"When historians of the future write the chronicles of our times, a feature story may well be China's targeted poverty alleviation," he said.