Editor's Note: As the Communist Party of China (CPC) approaches the 105th anniversary of its founding, on July 1, CGTN presents "How the Communist Party of China Works," a special series of in-depth news analyses. This series offers a systematic analysis of the CPC's sustained effectiveness, examining its institutional resilience, people-centered philosophy, and global significance.

In its poverty elimination effort, China has succeeded in lifting nearly 100 million people out of absolute poverty in just eight years, a scale and speed the World Bank has recognized as "historically unprecedented" by any measure.

The country's complete eradication of extreme poverty – the first target of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – 10 years ahead of schedule, is celebrated as a milestone in the history of the Chinese nation and the history of humankind.

Behind this success story lies the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), whose scientific planning, targeted strategies and people-centered philosophy have underpinned China's extraordinary fight against poverty.

The long-term planning

A fundamental reason for China's poverty alleviation achievement is the CPC's consistent, forward-looking strategic planning and sustained governance efforts.

Since its 18th National Congress in 2012, the Party has elevated poverty eradication as a core priority of its governance, launching an eight-year campaign to 2020 that fundamentally eliminated absolute poverty that had plagued the country for millennia.

To prevent large-scale post-campaign poverty relapse, the CPC designated a five-year transition period from 2021 to 2025, maintaining stable key supportive policies to consolidate poverty alleviation outcomes.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics show, the per capita disposable income of rural populations in former poverty-stricken counties stood at 18,627 yuan (approximately $2,729.6) in 2025. Their average annual income growth over the transition phase that aligned with the 14th Five-Year Plan period hit 8.2%, higher than the nationwide rural benchmark.

Since the start of 2026, the first year marking the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), the Party has been integrating regular poverty assistance into the rural revitalization strategy, opening a new chapter of modernizing agriculture and rural areas.

Xiao Xinjian, a researcher with the National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top economic planner, noted that the CPC avoided a one-size-fits-all approach after the completion of the eight-year poverty relief campaign.

Instead, it has adopted dynamic, targeted policy adjustments and built a progressive, long-term poverty governance system that moves from eradicating absolute poverty to preventing a return to poverty and ultimately promoting rural revitalization, Xiao said.

The strategy of targeted poverty alleviation

Targeted poverty alleviation stands as China's most powerful tool in securing a decisive victory over poverty and a groundbreaking innovation in global poverty reduction theory and practice.

It highlights the CPC's sound and pragmatic approach of tailoring policies and measures to local conditions and developmental needs.

Covering the full cycle of poverty reduction from identification to sustainable exit, the strategy laid out clear answers to five essential questions: who should be helped, by whom, through what means, when to exit, and how to prevent a return to poverty.

To accurately identify the poor in need of help, for instance, China has run a national poverty alleviation information system, where poor households and villages are profiled in detail.

This registration system, officials note, marks a historic first: it has enabled the authorities to identify every poor individual in every village, and to systematically record every poor household's causes of their poverty and specific assistance requirements.

In addition, the targeted poverty alleviation strategy centers on creating the conditions for poor households to secure employment and stable incomes to achieve self-sufficiency, and delivers tailored support such as housing, skill training, healthcare and job search.

Hao Dong, a professor at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee, said that the full-cycle management method, which covers every stage from profiling and on-the-ground assistance to long-term follow-up monitoring, has helped guarantee sustained and effective poverty governance.

The path to prosperity for all

Beyond eliminating absolute poverty, the CPC's poverty alleviation effort prioritizes common prosperity for all, focusing on fostering endogenous momentum and bridging regional growth gaps.

In order to leave no single poor area behind, the Party has pooled national resources and established an assistance framework linking the developed eastern regions with their less-developed western counterparts.

Thanks to talent, technology and market resources brought by the Guangdong-Guizhou pairing assistance program, Zheng'an, once a severely impoverished county in Guizhou province, has grown into one of the world's largest guitar manufacturing bases, producing one in every seven guitars sold globally.

Li Xiaoyun, a renowned development scholar from China Agricultural University, said that the east-west pairing program is not a simple financial transfer, but a transfer of development capabilities, injecting lasting endogenous vitality into underdeveloped areas.

China's CPC-led poverty alleviation experience has also transcended national boundaries, offering a practical Chinese approach to addressing global poverty challenges.