Editor's note: Huang Yongfu is a Special Commentator on economic affairs for CGTN. After earning a PhD in economics, he started his career at the University of Cambridge and then moved on to the UN system. His current interests lie in Sino-US links and global development. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

The Financial Times article, entitled "China said it ended poverty. Did it?" by William Langley on March 9, 2026, is a recent example of Western media downplaying China's massive successes in poverty reduction.  

It is reasonable to doubt China's achievement of poverty elimination; after all China is open to any questions. However, this cynical Western observer has presented largely biased and negative opinions to readers, by referring to some equally cynical interviewees.  

History has been repleting with sycophants and cynics, who jettison any principle in the service of egos. But even those people dressed up in faux-altruistic casuistry can only step back in awe when facing strong evidence of China's efforts and achievements globally recognized in this regard.  

I am just curious about the following.

How much does the author know about poverty reduction?

Adam Smith's most well-known work, "An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations" (1776), exhibits sympathy for the poor, by which he meant not only those in poverty, but also the working poor. A famous passage is that "No society can surely be flourishing and happy, of which the far greater part of the members are poor and miserable."

Smith's plan to lift people out of poverty didn't advocate a libertarian utopia, but he believed governments should play an important role. He highlighted government as "they" by saying that "It is but equity, besides, that they who feed, clothe, and lodge the whole body of the people, should have such a share of the produce of so much of their own labor as to be themselves tolerably well fed, clothed, and lodged."

If the author is really serious about China's living conditions or even human rights, above all the right to enjoy a life without deprivation and the right to have hope, he should realize or appreciate that China's poverty elimination needs a strong and responsible government and the world needs a prosperous China.

There are few nations that are more focused on the task of eliminating poverty than the People's Republic of China, where a huge amount of resources have been devoted to the building of infrastructure, apartments, schools and hospitals in the remote areas, as indicated in the article.

Are opinions from those interviewees representative and credible?

The article refers to four Chinese and one UN staff. Let's look at them one by one.

The first Chinese interviewee is Yang Nai Yan Qing, a member of China's Dong ethnic minority. This lady was given an apartment by the government, but she says her life has barely changed.

The second interviewee is "Sister Wu, a 37-year-old Miao woman." This lady says "much of the investment is wasted," "Apart from being given a place to live, there is nothing else," and "she remains reliant on remittances from her husband."

Free government apartments allow these two women to have decent lives, as long as they go out and look for jobs. They are certainly not representative of contemporary Chinese who understand the difficulties the government face and appreciate governmental help.

The third Chinese interviewee, Yang, a store manager (only gave his surname), says that the government gave his family of seven two apartments totaling 140 square meters. The last Chinese interviewee, Pan, a private boss of a textile mill, encountered some difficulties and complained about "the government didn't give a single cent." In fact the government has placed private firms at the center of its work and supportive measures are on the way.

Let's now look at Bill Bikales, Lead UN Economist in China between 2019 and 2021.

The article confirms that "the country has eliminated poverty according to the World Bank's $3 per day income standard," but complains that "China has a relatively low threshold for what constitutes poverty compared with other middle-income countries."

The author relies heavily on the opinions of this UN staff member, that "according to experts including Bikales, who say that China's anti-poverty drive was characterized by supply-side interventions.... with little enthusiasm for the building of social safety nets."

This is absolutely ridiculous, and his performance as Lead UN Economist in China is worrying. In 1994 China set up the basic foundations of China's poverty alleviation program, which included leasing out farmlands to poor households, improving education and health, providing job opportunities, ensuring mass electrification, and providing vocational education and training in rural areas. And the program worked, in the sense that, for example, 95% of villages had access to electricity in 2000.

Will your country's government provide free apartments to the poor?

The article confirms that "A concrete road now connects Yang's mountainside village to the rest of the county and many of her neighbors were relocated to newer apartment blocks downhill."

The local government faces considerable economic and environmental difficulties, including "steep mountain valleys and a dearth of arable land," "the pandemic... and a crackdown on the property sector, a crucial source of revenue," and "severe flooding," but "In the town of Guandong, they have built hundreds of new mid-rise apartments, a new school and an array of industrial building." The article also confirms that "officials have focused on developing new industries."

In fact, poverty is ubiquitous globally. Recent surveys underscore this fragility. PNC Bank's 2025 Financial Wellness in the Workplace Report confirms that about 67% of US workers live paycheck to paycheck. A viral post detailed the story of a former JavaScript engineer in the US who, despite earning a six-figure salary, became homeless within six months of losing his job. That has popularized a new phrase "kill line" in recent weeks.

Will the author's country government provide free apartments or other free social welfare to the poor?

How much have you known about China's recent poverty eradication efforts?

Indeed, poverty reduction often proves fragile around the world where economic or natural shocks can easily push vulnerable households back below the poverty line.

After declaring victory in the battle against extreme poverty in 2021, China's policymakers have made it unmistakably clear that the end of the transition period does not mean the end of assistance, both at home and abroad.

The 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030) introduces a new approach termed "regularized and targeted assistance," representing an upgraded iteration of "targeted poverty alleviation," the mobilization-based strategy adopted throughout China's extreme poverty eradication campaign that concluded in 2021.

"Regularized" here signifies institutionalized, long-term and sustained support, while "targeted" indicates precision implementation across the entire policy lifecycle. The fundamental nature of assistance has undergone a shift, rooted in the timeless principle that it is far better to teach a person to fish than merely to give them a fish. The revised framework encompasses improved industrial and employment support, fostering market-competitive industries, and designating national and provincial key counties for targeted rural revitalization support.

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