President Xi Jinping discussed the national unity of ethnic groups, grass-roots health conditions, housing for herdsmen, labor transfer in poverty-stricken areas and other issues of concern, when he joined national lawmakers from the northwestern province of Qinghai during the annual parliamentary session on March 10.

Xi stressed that the period of the 13th Five-Year Plan is an essential stage to reduce poverty. It is necessary to accelerate progress and work together and ensure that needy people in rural regions can be lifted out of poverty by 2020, the year when China's 13th Five-Year Plan draws to a close..

As the poverty alleviation campaign is growing deeper, the task is even more difficult. Due to the fact that some rural residents are suffering from more serious poverty and such matters are complex.

Poverty is often intertwined with overall planning for urban and rural areas, ecological environment, and social security system instead of isolated concerns, which require a comprehensive solution.

Never be weary of overcoming difficulties, even though tackling poverty is the most difficult task for building a moderately prosperous society. No matter how difficult this campaign is, and what problem it may come across, the task must be completed on time.

Keeping the CPC's flesh-and-blood ties with the people and building a well-off society with each citizen does involve determination to recognize real poverty, so we can help people in need by working together.

By Sun Xiaoli, deputy director of the Department of Political Science of the Chinese Academy of Governance, comics drawn by Wang Dongjie