Commentary
BEIJING – The central government has removed all remaining impoverished counties from the poverty list, marking a new starting point on the road to modernization as the country gears up to ensure the hard-won feat stands the test of time and people.
After delisting all the 832 poverty-stricken counties, the central government will conduct inspections and assessments to ensure the standardization of the delisting process, the accuracy of the criteria and the authenticity of the achievement. Only after careful verification will the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee announce the final victory of the tough battle against poverty.
Meanwhile, the country has forged a raft of policies to prevent those who have shaken off poverty from falling back into the clutches of destitution. For instance, a poverty-relief supervision and aid mechanism was established earlier this year, focusing on those with unstable income or hovering just above the poverty line.
Millennia-old issue resolved
China has resolved its millennia-old issue of extreme poverty, but the Chinese people’s pursuit for a better life is far from over. Therefore, the country has pledged to advance rural vitalization in the new development stage.
The strategy will help improve the quality, efficiency and competitiveness of agriculture, put rural construction in an important position in socialist modernization, deepen rural reforms and enhance the integrated urban-rural development mechanism.
The goal is to build rural areas into thriving businesses and ensure pleasant living environments, social etiquette and civility as well as effective governance and prosperity.
Facing middle-income trap
Despite the achievement in poverty alleviation, China remains the biggest developing country globally, with its per capita GDP topping US$10,000. Development is still the foundation and key to solving all challenges, including the middle-income trap* facing the country.
Over the past 40-plus years of reform and opening up, more than 700 million people in China have been lifted out of poverty, contributing more than 70 percent of the global poverty reduction.
China’s practice has proved that if a country can follow a people-first approach, proceed from its realities for development, and seek a targeted and practical solution, it will successfully find a poverty reduction path suiting its own conditions and needs.
China will continue to strive for innovative approaches to poverty eradication. In pursuit of this goal, a workshop on digital technology-driven poverty alleviation is scheduled next year, and many similar strategies are in the offing.
The country is also willing to play its role in the global context of poverty elimination. China stands ready to share its experience and wisdom to contribute to the global poverty reduction efforts and build a better world that is free of poverty and enjoys common development.
*The term middle-income trap (MIT) usually refers to countries that have experienced rapid growth and thus quickly reached middle-income status, but then fail to overcome that income range to further catch up with the developed countries.
– Subheadings and MIT explanation by The Macau Post Daily.
– Xinhua
