How China’s targeted poverty relief strategy works

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By CGTN's The Point

"How can we help people get a better life?" asked Mo Jihong, Deputy Secretary of the CPC’s Zhangye Municipal Committee in Gansu Province, explaining the core of China’s targeted poverty relief strategy.

According to data from the World Bank, over 800 million people have been lifted out of poverty in China over the last four decades.

"At the very beginning of economic reform, 76 percent of rural people and 55 percent of urban people were living under the poverty line, but right now, perhaps less than 4 percent of rural people are living under the poverty line," said Xia Qingjie, a professor from the School of Economics at Peking University.

Professor Xia Qingjie, School of Economics at Peking University. /CGTN Photo

According to Xia, China’s successful industrialization and the government’s ability to implement central policies at a grassroots level have been essential for this change.

"The Communist Party of China is completely different from the Western parliamentary party. They have a much stronger position and all the means in China to get rid of poverty," he said.

China is also different from other developing countries in that it has a long history of strong, inclusive central government and this efficient governing structure is very important in poverty alleviation work, he added.

Michele Geraci, head of the China Program at the Global Policy Institute, argued that there has been a total alignment of interests within China’s political system in this regard.

"There is an element of truth because in emerging markets, when you don’t have time to debate too much, a strong government, whether it’s the central or local government, that implements what they say is key," he said.

"It is correct that if we start debating too much on who should do it, then things don’t get done. So, one of the key successes of China has been the control and the scaling down of the policy from central government to the provincial, prefecture and city level, and then to the village, town and so on. That actually makes things [happen]."

As of the end of 2016, there were still 43.4 million people – around three percent of the population – living below China’s poverty line of 2,300 yuan or around 340 US dollars per year in rural China.

So what can local governments do to achieve the goal of eradicating poverty completely by 2020?

Mo Jihong explained that in Zhangye, the Communist Party of China made a comprehensive policy, prioritizing poverty alleviation.

Firstly, the party and government officials at different levels are tasked with visiting families in extreme poverty on a regular basis to ask about their situation. If these families are not lifted out of poverty, the officials themselves are held responsible.

Mo Jihong, Deputy Secretary of CPC Zhangye Municipal Committee in Gansu Province. /CGTN Photo

Secondly, the Zhangye government dispatches many young people to live and work in the villages to identify the poorest families.

Thirdly, special programs are designed to help the target families, such as establishing rural cooperatives and encouraging mutual help.

"It works very well," said Mo Jihong.

The Point with Liu Xin is a 30-minute current affairs program on CGTN. It airs weekdays at 9.30 p.m. BJT (1330GMT), with rebroadcasts at 5.30 a.m. (2130GMT) and 10.30 a.m. (0230GMT).

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