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 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 country's consistent, forward-looking strategic planning and sustained governance efforts.

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

To prevent large-scale post-campaign poverty relapse, the country 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 that per capita disposable income for rural populations in former poverty-stricken counties stood at 18,627 yuan (approximately $2,729.6) in 2025. Their average annual income growth during the transition phase aligned with the 14th Five-Year Plan period reached 8.2%, higher than the national rural benchmark.

Since the start of 2026, the first year of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030), China has integrated regular poverty assistance into its rural revitalization strategy, opening a new chapter in 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 country avoided a one-size-fits-all approach after completing 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 is China's most powerful tool for securing a decisive victory over poverty and a groundbreaking innovation in global poverty reduction theory and practice.

It highlights the country's sound, pragmatic approach of tailoring policies and measures to local conditions and development 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 those in need of help, China has run a national poverty alleviation information system that profiles poor households and villages in detail.

Officials note that this registration system marks a historic first: it has enabled the authorities to identify every poor individual in every village and systematically record every poor household's causes of poverty and specific assistance needs.

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

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, China's poverty alleviation effort prioritizes common prosperity for all, focusing on fostering endogenous momentum and bridging regional growth gaps.

Having left no single poor area behind, the country has pooled national resources and established an assistance framework linking the developed eastern regions with their less-developed western counterparts.

For example, 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 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 poverty alleviation experience has also transcended national boundaries, offering a practical Chinese approach to addressing global poverty challenges.