China Poverty Alleviation: 'Deeply impoverished' areas 'short slab' for zero poverty

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With roughly 18 months left for China to reach its goal of eliminating extreme poverty - much work remains. China's anti-poverty officials say many poor regions are "deeply impoverished" which pose a challenge in a national poverty reduction drive. Tao Yuan has more.

Half of China's poor live in what are called "deeply impoverished" areas. At a press briefing on Wednesday, officials in charge of poverty reduction efforts said these places are the biggest challenge for the nation's upcoming zero-poverty target.

OU QINGPING, DEPUTY HEAD STATE COUNCIL LEADING GROUP OFFICE OF POVERTY ALLEVIATION & DEVELOPMENT "These areas tend to be old revolutionary bases, ethnic minority regions or border areas. They tend to be relatively remote, vast but thinly populated and short on resources. The people there are usually less skilled. Poverty reduction efforts in these regions tend to be more costly and more difficult."

TAO YUAN BEIJING "China aims to bring everyone above the poverty line by next year. With one and a half years to go, still, over 300 counties nationwide are listed as 'deeply impoverished,' with weak economic foundations and complicated causes of poverty."

Xiang Guiyu is the deputy head of southwestern China's Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture – an ethnic minority region and one of China's poorest areas.

XIANG GUIYU, DEPUTY HEAD LIANGSHAN YI AUTONOMOUS PREFECTURE, SICHUAN PROVINCE "In the past, people in Liangshan were backward thinkers. Some thought the roads should only be good enough to walk on. Now, one major change is taking place – modern roads making it possible for us to develop tourism and sell local goods. People realized roads mean development."

Ma Fengsheng comes from Qinghai Province – part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

MA FENGSHENG QINGHAI PROVINCE POVERTY ALLEVIATION & DEVELOPMENT BUREAU "The natural conditions are harsh. People's lives and work are quite restricted, especially in ethnic Tibetan regions where resources are scarce. So how to choose the right industries to develop in order to boost local farmers' income is very important."

Officials also pointed out even if the zero poverty target is met next year, how to keep people from returning to poverty remains a challenge.

Tao Yuan, CGTN, Beijing.