Regular support needed to keep people off poverty, official says

The fourth plenary session of the 20th Communist Party of China Central Committee called for more efforts to establish a mechanism to lend support on a regular basis to people in rural areas and prevent a large-scale relapse into poverty, a senior official said on Friday.

This year is the final year of a five-year transitional period for China to consolidate and expand the achievements after winning its battle against poverty.

The upcoming period under the 15th Five-Year Plan, which lasts from next year to 2030, marks a new phase where the country shifts toward regular support after the transitional period, Han Wenxiu, executive deputy director of the Office of the Central Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs, told a news conference.

The country will establish and improve the regular support system, and ensure support policies that were implemented during the past five years, which have proven "strong and effective", will remain consistent, while making small readjustment to the policies, Han said.

The policies involving fiscal investment, financial support and allocation of resources will remain stable in general, Han said, adding that effective practices, such as collaboration between eastern and western parts of the country, will continue and be modified according to actual conditions.

Noting that China has determined 160 key counties to receive support and achieve rural revitalization, Han said the country will continue to provide long-term assistance to its less developed regions.

The country will support these regions by helping them develop industries, improving infrastructure and public services in the rural areas and narrowing the development gap between urban and rural areas, according to Han.

China will also make its support efforts more timely and targeted, Han said.

"(We) need to ensure early detection for rural households encountering major diseases or natural disasters, and offer early intervention and assistance," he said.

A regular monitoring system is needed to prevent a relapse into poverty, Han said, calling for efforts to determine with accuracy people who need assistance and readjust the list regularly.

The country will strengthen "industrial and employment aid" for those who are able to work, while provide aid through social assistance schemes for those who are not able to work to ensure their basic livelihoods, he said.