Nation holds head high in fighting poverty

Milestone reached

The changes witnessed in the village reflect the efforts made by the nation to alleviate poverty.

On Feb 25 last year, President Xi Jinping announced that China had secured a complete victory in its fight against poverty. The eradication of absolute poverty was a milestone made possible after an unprecedented nationwide campaign led by Xi.

Some 98.99 million rural residents, 832 impoverished counties and 128,000 villages have been lifted out of absolute poverty since the 18th National Congress of the CPC in 2012, enabling the nation to meet its poverty reduction target set in the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 10 years ahead of schedule.

China is home to nearly one-fifth of the world's population. Its complete eradication of extreme poverty is a milestone in the history of the nation and of humankind, making an important contribution to the cause of global poverty alleviation, according to a white paper released by the State Council last year.

Incomes among poor residents have continued to rise. Per capita rural disposable incomes grew from 6,079 yuan in 2013 to 12,588 yuan in 2020, with an annual rise of 11.6 percent.

Areas where ethnic groups form the majority of the population have made notable progress in fighting poverty. From 2016 to 2020, in the five autonomous regions (Inner Mongolia, Guangxi Zhuang, Tibet, Ningxia Hui and Xinjiang Uygur) and three provinces (Guizhou, Yunnan and Qinghai) with large multiethnic populations, the number of poor people has fallen by 15.6 million.

According to the national poverty alleviation survey carried out from 2020 to last year in 22 provincial regions, poor households now have adequate food and clothing all year round and a proper supply of nutritious food.

To eradicate poverty, China has also focused on improving access to good-quality education for its impoverished population.

According to the white paper, there are no school dropouts in the countryside because of financial difficulties. Nine-year compulsory education is available to all children from poor rural households, and the school completion rate in 2020 was 94.8 percent.

The campaign also helped 25.68 million poor residents renovate their dilapidated homes, and offered medical treatment to more than 20 million people.

The government also provided living and nursing subsidies for 24 million people in financial difficulties, or with severe disabilities.