By Ye Xingqing, DRC 2016-12-7

To examine the outcome and progress of shared development, we need to consider the advance of poverty alleviation in rural areas. China’s anti-poverty process and future development can be reviewed from three perspectives. First, with regard to the “trickle-down effect” in economic growth, China’s rapid and sustained growth has benefited the majority and lifted them out of poverty. Second, from the perspective of inclusive growth, the implementation of the strategies of coordinated regional development as well as integrated development of urban and rural areas has given more opportunities for development to remote and rural areas. Third, in terms of government-led specific poverty alleviation programs, they have made remarkable anti-poverty progress. Currently, China’s economy has entered a state of the new normal, which means the “trickle-down effect” of growth will gradually decrease and main measures for inclusive growth will also face daunting challenges. Against such new situations, poverty alleviation with targeted measures is especially needed. To implement this targeted anti-poverty strategy, we need to answer three questions. First, in order to implement targeted measures, we need to sort out issues relating to the number of poor population, the degree of poverty and the causes leading to poverty. Second, we need to make clear how to divide up such a job. We need to framework a work mechanism for poverty alleviation and development with the Central Government taking up the general coordinating work, governments at province, autonomous region and municipality (directly under the central administration) levels providing guiding principles, and local governments at prefecture and county levels implementing the concrete measures. Third, as regards ways for rendering support to the poor, we need to, in accordance with specific local conditions, alleviate poverty by developing production, transferring certain population in least developed areas to developed and core cities, paying compensation for ecological damages, improving education and offering basic social securities and subsistence assistance. Fourth, with respect to removing the label of “poverty” project in the process of rehabilitating rural poor and impoverished counties, we need to make related institutional arrangements, accelerate the establishment of mechanisms for phasing out the number of poverty-stricken counties and households.

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