2014 poverty alleviation yearbook released

A comprehensive guide to China's efforts to alleviate poverty was released on Saturday in Beijing on the 23rd International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.

The yearbook produced by the International Poverty Reduction Center in China recorded China's accomplishments in 2014. The English version will be released soon.

The previous yearbook already has been cited by researchers more than 1,000 times on cnki.net, China's largest database of research papers, said Zhang Deliang, deputy chief of the research division at the center.

"The yearbook collected information on China's efforts on poverty alleviation from all perspectives in 2014, including policies, actions and research. It provides a solid database for researchers and practitioners,” Zhang said.

A 2015 report on the development plan for further anti-poverty efforts also was released on Saturday in Beijing. In the annual report, scholars urged more involvement by the Chinese market.

Companies and farmers should be actively engaging in poverty alleviation, said report writer Xiang Deping, a professor at Wuhan University's China poverty alleviation development academy.

One of the challenges is that there is a lack of awareness by companies in the role they might take, he said.

"For instance, an enterprise went to a poverty-stricken area to start a business, aiming to bring more profit. Local peasants welcomed them at first. But later, local residents thought the company took their resources," Xiang said. "Poverty alleviation should be a win-win situation. Local farmers and the company should be both benefit from it."

Saturday also marked China's second National Poverty Relief Day. The Chinese government has pledged to enact more policies to lift the country's 70 million poor people above the poverty line by 2020.

President Xi Jinping, at the Global Poverty Reduction and Development Forum in Beijing on Friday, said eradicating poverty "is a common mission of human beings."