Coronavirus doesn't get in the way of poverty alleviation

Villagers learn flower planting skills at Gaojiu village, Xinghua township of Rongjiang county in Southwest China's Guizhou province on March 8, 2020. [Photo/Xinhua]

One-third of the 350,000 planned poverty alleviation projects this year in 22 provinces in central and western China has started operation, a senior official with the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development said on Tuesday.

The novel coronavirus epidemic has affected the resumption of production and work of enterprises and poverty alleviation projects to some extent, said Huang Yan, director of the office's Planning and Finance Division.

However, with the epidemic under control, 113,000 poverty alleviation projects in the 22 provinces have kicked off, she said.

The office has required that projects with favorable conditions should start construction promptly, and projects that cannot start immediately should conduct other work, such as preliminary design and review, Huang said.

Huang noted the office will subsidize affected poverty alleviation-related industries and enterprises. One-time allowances and loan interest subsidies also will be provided to the leading poverty alleviation enterprises and workshops that strive to overcome the impact of the epidemic and offer jobs to the poor, Huang said.