2019 China Poverty Reduction International Forum: Sharing knowledge for global poverty reduction

The 2019 China Poverty Reduction International Forum was held in Beijing on October 16, on the theme “Joint efforts on knowledge sharing to promote global poverty reduction governance.” The forum brought together over 200 participants from 30 countries, including government officials, representatives of international organizations, academia, businesses and NGOs.

The 2019 China Poverty Reduction International Forum is held in Beijing on October 16, on the theme “Joint efforts on knowledge sharing to promote global poverty reduction governance.” 

The forum’s agenda covered a range of topics from global poverty monitoring, targeted poverty alleviation effectiveness and innovation mechanism, community empowerment through improved governance, public management, to market access for smallholder farmers. Country-specific case studies were presented and discussed.

Fang Zhenghui, vice president of China International Publishing Group delivers a speech at the 2019 China Poverty Reduction International Forum. 

Fang Zhenghui, vice president of China International Publishing Group said in the opening session that the annual forum has become an effective platform to share China's poverty reduction experiences and has gained a broad impact. “The 110 selected case studies from the first global solicitation for best poverty reduction practices will be announced soon. We believe this activity will better promote knowledge sharing and South-South Cooperation in poverty alleviation. We will also launch a new book of global partners’ views on China's poverty alleviation. Providing a new perspective for the world to observe China, it is a useful attempt to share poverty reduction practices and contribute to global poverty governance.”

Guo Weimin, vice minister of the State Council Information Office delivers a speech at the 2019 China Poverty Reduction International Forum. 

Guo Weimin, vice minister of the State Council Information Office, said in his opening speech, “China attaches great importance to contributing to global poverty reduction through cooperation. China's practice and wisdom should be shared with other countries and regions to provide experience and reference. Similarly, China also needs to learn from other countries and regions to extend its development paths in poverty alleviation.”

Victoria Kwakwa, World Bank Vice President for the East Asia and Pacific delivers a speech at the 2019 China Poverty Reduction International Forum. 

“China’s progress in poverty reduction has global significance. China alone accounts for three-quarters of the reduction in global poverty from the 1980s to today,” said Victoria Kwakwa, World Bank Vice President for the East Asia and Pacific in a video speech at the forum. “Working with successful countries such as China allows the World Bank to build its own knowledge and capabilities and to transfer development lessons to other countries.”

 Nicholas Rosellini, UN Resident Coordinator delivers a speech at the 2019 China Poverty Reduction International Forum. 

UN Resident Coordinator Nicholas Rosellini also applauded China’s efforts in recent years. “China’s large contribution to realization of the first target of the Millennium Development Goal 1 -- halving the share of people living in poverty -- has been widely recognized and praised.” He said, China has much poverty alleviation experience to share with others. The vast experience that China has accumulated in dealing with agricultural development challenges, ways of increasing income, increasing food production and availability for others, and avoiding environmental damage, is a great resource for the whole world.

Zuo Changsheng, director general of Department of Development and Guidance, Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development delivers a speech at the 2019 China Poverty Reduction International Forum.

Zuo Changsheng, director general of Department of Development and Guidance, Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development stated that it is a universal goal of mankind to build a community with a shared future that enjoys common prosperity and no poverty. “China has always been a strong advocator, promoter and contributor to global poverty alleviation. While promoting poverty reduction at home, China has always done its best to provide assistance to other developing countries with no political strings attached, and has helped the vast number of developing countries, especially the least developed countries, in eradicating poverty.” “We focus on improving poverty reduction governance capacity of our partners through training programs, exchange activities, and project demonstrations. We are willing to strengthen exchanges and cooperation, and contribute to the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” he added.

Yolanda Fernandez Lommen, Country Director, PRC Resident Mission concurrently Country Director, Mongolia Resident Mission, Asian Development Bank (ADB) delivers a speech at the 2019 China Poverty Reduction International Forum. 

Yolanda Fernandez Lommen, Country Director, PRC Resident Mission concurrently Country Director, Mongolia Resident Mission, Asian Development Bank (ADB) said in her speech, “while many countries are behind the so called ‘Asian Miracle’, there is one country that stands out for its remarkable achievement in development and poverty reduction, the People’s Republic of China. China, through its spectacular economic reform and transformation, has practically eradicated poverty in about one generation. For over 30 years, ADB and the PRC have worked closely to fight poverty. To do that, ADB assistance has evolved from a more traditional approach based on large infrastructure projects to the current people-centered multi-sector operations, underpinned by knowledge-based solutions and innovation.” she said.

Yao Xiangjun, regional programme leader of FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific delivers a speech at the 2019 China Poverty Reduction International Forum. 

Yao Xiangjun, regional programme leader of FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, also observed that substantive decline in global monetary poverty in the past three decades was highly driven by China’s progress. “FAO establishes a Strategic Programme on rural poverty reduction, and is partnering with China on promoting inclusive agriculture and food systems, reducing poverty and revitalizing rural areas. We will move forward in strengthening our partnership with China on rural poverty reduction,” said Yao.

Matteo Marchisio, IFAD representative in China, country director for the Republic of Korea and Democratic People’s Republic of Korea delivers a speech at the 2019 China Poverty Reduction International Forum.

Matteo Marchisio, IFAD representative in China, country director for the Republic of Korea and Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, China is expected to eradicate absolute poverty next year. “This is a remarkable achievement, and no other country has been able to bring such a large number of people out of poverty in only two generations,” he said.

“However, there are still some challenges that China would need to deal with after 2020. So the international development agencies need to continue supporting China in dealing with the ‘post-2020 challenges’ – relative poverty, vulnerability, inequality, sustainability of achievements, etc. But the nature and modality of cooperation would need to change and adjust to the new context, expectations, and "added-value" we can offer. IFAD, in our capacity, could generate knowledge that can inform decision-making through our projects or analytical work, and provide platforms and networks to share knowledge among countries,” he continued.

Zhao Bing, director & global coordinator of Purchase for Progress Programme of World Food Programme (WFP) delivers a speech at the 2019 China Poverty Reduction International Forum. 

Zhao Bing, director & global coordinator of Purchase for Progress Programme of World Food Programme (WFP) described the global solicitation for best poverty reduction practices as an excellent initiative. “It not only encourages dissemination of China’s success stories, but also facilitates mutual learning through sharing good practice around the world. WFP will continue to support the second call of the efforts,” he said.

Another knowledge sharing tool will be launched soon by WFP China Office, Zhao disclosed. “The office will set up an online South-South Cooperation knowledge sharing platform which provides an enabling environment for partners to publicize demand, share solutions and connect with each other to foster South-South and triangular cooperation opportunities. The platform will review China's policy on poverty reduction and rural development and showcase innovative experience by reflecting farmers' own experience. It will also share applicable and proven technologies of China's agricultural and food value chain development,” he added.

Wang Xiaohui, editor-in-chief of China Internet Information Center (CIIC) delivers a speech at the 2019 China Poverty Reduction International Forum. 

According to Wang Xiaohui, editor-in-chief of China Internet Information Center (CIIC), there are a large number of moving stories, replicable experiences and theories in China's poverty alleviation practice. “These should be shared with other countries and regions facing similar problems,” he said.

Wang also pointed out that the media plays an important role in building poverty reduction partnerships. Through telling stories, it helps sorting, summarizing, displaying and disseminating a variety of cases. It is also a bridge to share information and resources. “We will work together to build a more open and efficient international communication and cooperation platform, focusing on the core issues of global poverty reduction and development,” he added.

H.E. Alvin Laurence, principal secretary for Poverty Alleviation, Ministry of Family Affairs, Seychelles delivers a speech at the 2019 China Poverty Reduction International Forum. 

H.E. Alvin Laurence, principal secretary for Poverty Alleviation, Ministry of Family Affairs, Seychelles, told the audience the efforts that the country has made in reducing poverty. He said that Seychelles has strived to put its people at the center of development by providing free health care, education and social security benefits as well as a progressive gender policy. “Entrusted with the responsibility to alleviate poverty, we visit every household and conduct scientific researches. Engaging a multi-dimensional approach to measuring poverty makes a lot of sense and promote the wellbeing of the individual, the household, the community and the nation,” he added.

Ruslan Yemtsov, the World Bank’s human development program leader for China, Mongolia and Korea delivers a speech at the 2019 China Poverty Reduction International Forum. 

Ruslan Yemtsov, the World Bank’s human development program leader for China, Mongolia and Korea emphasized the importance of human capital to China’s development. He said, since its reform and opening-up, China has laid a very impressive foundation in terms of human capital. As the largest contributor to global extreme poverty reduction, China has witnessed the fastest increase in life expectancy, the fastest expansion of the pension coverage, and one of the fastest progress in achieving universal literacy. 

“The most important component of wealth as countries get richer is human capital. The quality of China’s human capital is the cornerstone of its economy and is key for China to achieve high income status,” he added.

At the 2019 China Poverty Reduction International Forum on Oct. 16, 2019, the list of the 110 best poverty reduction case studies selected from a total of 820 case studies submitted in the first round of the Global Solicitation on Best Poverty Reduction Practices is announced.

At the forum, a list of 110 best poverty reduction case studies was announced. These case studies were selected from the Global Solicitation and Challenge Prize on Best Poverty Reduction Practices launched in May 2018 and will be made publicly available through the Global Poverty Reduction Inclusive Growth Portal(GPIG) and the Global Poverty Reduction Online Knowledge Sharing Database. The forum also launched the second call for poverty reduction case studies starting from October 16, 2019 to March 31, 2020.

On October 16, 2019, the Chinese and English versions of “A Foreign Lens: How global partners view China's poverty alleviation efforts” are unveiled at the 2019 China Poverty Reduction International Forum. 

The book “A Foreign Lens: How Global Partners View China's Poverty Alleviation Efforts” released at the forum was a publication aimed to tell China’s poverty alleviation stories to an international audience.

Since its first launch in 2016, this forum was the fourth of the kind. It was co-hosted by the China Internet Information Center (CIIC), International Poverty Reduction Center in China (IPRCC), the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and World Food Programme (WFP); and jointly organized by China.org.cn, China Development Gateway, and Chinese Voice Think Tank, and supported by the China Institute for Poverty Reduction Research at Beijing Normal University and the College of Humanities and Development Studies, China Agricultural University.