China’s reform and opening-up creates miracle in poverty reduction

Photo taken on Dec. 8, 2018 shows a farmer harvests lotus roots in Anhui province, east China. Daxu village in Zhaoqiao town of Bozhou city has introduced a pollution-free lotus as a new channel to help local farmers out of poverty and increase their incomes. (Photo from CFP)

Over forty years of reform and opening-up, China has managed to free more than 700 million people from absolute poverty, accounting for more than 70 percent of the global total in poverty reduction in the same period. The country has reduced the incidence of poverty by 94.4 percent in the period. As the first developing country to reach the UN Millennium Development Goals in poverty reduction, China has made significant contributions to poverty eradication around the world.

As the most populous developing country in the world, China has always been an active advocator and strong promoter of poverty reduction around the world. From 2012 to 2017, China was at the forefront of poverty reduction, with nearly 70 million people being lifted out of poverty, an equivalent of at least 26 people shaking off poverty per minute; the incidence of poverty was reduced from 10.2 to 3.1 percent, and 153 impoverished counties were extricated from poverty. With the positive interaction between reform and opening-up and poverty alleviation and development, China has managed to find its own way in dealing with the issue. From a macro point of view, under the guidance of the primary strategy featuring targeted poverty reduction and elimination, China has effectively resolved such problems as who should be helped, who to provide the help, and how to help. As to policy design, the country has built a poverty alleviation system which is dominated by the government and participated by multiple parties, providing an institutional guarantee for high efficiency in poverty reduction.

In terms of implementation, China has adhered to the idea of integrating poverty alleviation with helping people increase confidence in their own ability to lift themselves out of poverty and see that they can access the education they need to do so. The country also pays attention to drive up power for endogenous growth. Such precious experiences accumulated in practice are gaining the recognition of the international community. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres pointed out that targeted poverty alleviation is the only way to help the poorest people and achieve the major goals set for the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. China has pulled millions of people out of poverty, and its experience in this area can offer valuable lessons to other developing countries, the UN official added.

China is working to ensure that by the year 2020, all rural residents living below the current poverty line will have been out of poverty, and poverty eliminated in all poor counties and regions. The 2020 goal is currently 10 years ahead of the UN agenda. Jin Liqun, President of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), said he expects more countries to create such success stories in the future as China has done. He believes that as China is paying back to the international community as it moves its economy forward, adding that a country will make greater and faster achievements as long as it combines its efforts with international cooperation.

By Wang Yuan

(People’s Daily)