China’s Poverty Alleviation Measures and Achievements
Since the reform and opening-up policy in 1978, the Chinese government has worked without fail to alleviate poverty through development. The Chinese government launched a package of targeted poverty reduction programs covering broad areas, from physical infrastructure, social development, to industrial development and income generation to assist poor households and poor areas, and improve their ability to share the benefits of national growth and generate more income by themselves. Praising China’s poverty relief efforts, Ana Revenga, Senior Director of the Poverty and Equity Global Practice at the World Bank, said, “If anybody can show the world how to do that last mile (of ending extreme poverty), it probably is China.”
In 1986, the Chinese government established the State Council Leading Group of Poverty Alleviation and Development, identified poor counties, set a national poverty line, and created special funds for poverty alleviation. China’s poverty reduction actions mainly include building rural and agricultural infrastructure, helping increase the incomes of impoverished population, and providing public services such as social security and health care, education and cultural services.
In September 2000, all United Nations member states adopted eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to be achieved by 2015. The number one was to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger and to halve the proportion of people living on less than US$1.25 a day from a 1990 figure. Between 1990 and 2005, China’s progress accounted for more than three-quarters of global poverty reduction. China was the first developing country to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) target of reducing the population living in poverty by half ahead of the 2015 deadline. This incredible success was delivered by a combination of strong leadership, comprehensive policies, targeted measures, increased investment and an incentive mechanism, providing inspirations for global poverty alleviation governance.
In May 2005, the Chinese government, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and other international organizations jointly established the International Poverty Reduction Centre in China (IPRCC) to help reduce global poverty. By hosting or delivering so many events, the IPRCC has been promoting international cooperation and capacity building activities, contributing to the successful achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
It should be noted here that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted by the international community in 2015 calls on countries to begin efforts to achieve the 17 SDGs over the next 15 years. The SDGs are in the continuum with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which were under implementation from January 2000 to December 2015. These 17 SDGs are being implemented from January 2016 to December 2030. China has played an important role in shaping the SDGs.
Supported by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, the China Internet Information Center (CIIC) and the IPRCC jointly launched the Global Poverty Reduction and Inclusive Growth Portal website on May 8 last year to share poverty reduction knowledge among the South-South Cooperation countries. The portal is playing an important role in making China’s lessons available to the world and further the United Nations’ common mission to end extreme poverty. Bert Hofman, the World Bank Country Director of China, Mongolia and Korea, noted that the platform has remarkably facilitated international cooperation and knowledge exchange on poverty reduction initiatives around the world.
There are still more than 700 million people living in poverty in the world today. China, as the biggest developing country in the world, has led other countries to realize the UN Millennium Development Goals and made a huge contribution to poverty reduction worldwide. Over more than six decades, China has provided nearly RMB400 billion to 166 countries and international organizations, sent more than 600,000 aid workers, given medical assistance to 69 countries, and aided more than 120 developing countries in realizing the Millennium Development Goals. On seven occasions China has unconditionally cancelled interest-free loans to heavily indebted countries and least developed countries. Its endeavours have been widely hailed by the international community and its achievements will go down in history.