Nation's poverty alleviation inspires world economies
By XU WEI | China Daily | Updated: 2019-10-17 04:34
In 2011, China set the poverty line for its rural population at a net per capita annual income of 2,300 yuan ($324). The poverty line has since been adjusted each year for consumer inflation.
China, the world's largest developing country, has shown strong commitment to South-South cooperation, scaling up efforts to help other developing countries attain food security and poverty reduction.
Xi said at the opening ceremony of the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation that China will support Africa in achieving general food security by 2030, work with Africa to formulate and implement a cooperation program on agricultural modernization and carry out 50 agricultural assistance programs.
China will provide 1 billion yuan in emergency humanitarian food assistance to African countries affected by natural disasters, send 500 senior agricultural experts to the continent and train young researchers in agricultural science and entrepreneurs in agribusiness.
Leaders and experts from many developing countries have seen China's success in tackling poverty as an important reference for their own efforts.
Laotian President Bounnhang Vorachit, who is also general secretary of the Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party, expressed hope during a visit to China in April that his country might borrow from China's poverty alleviation experiences.
"The local successful practices reflect General Secretary Xi Jinping's idea of targeted poverty reduction and the Communist Party of China Central Committee's purpose of benefiting the people," he said while visiting a government relocation project in Fujian province.
"There is still a large poverty-stricken population in Laos, so we will bring China's poverty-alleviation experiences and measures back to our country," he told China Central Television.
Kakudi Kabemba Beaudouin, an agricultural expert from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, said China and the DRC share a similar historical background.
"China has accumulated lots of experience in poverty reduction and agricultural development, which we hope can be transferred to our country," Beaudouin said during a study tour to China in August.
The DRC, in its bid to develop itself into an emerging market economy before 2030, must prioritize the development of agriculture in order to solve its food security problem.
"But we require a catalyst to achieve that. We look forward to a solution offered by China," he said.
DRC farmers have received agricultural equipment such as threshers, fertilizer spreaders and fruit harvesting machines through a cooperative program between China, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and the DRC. China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs sent 13 experts to the DRC to share China's experience in poverty reduction and agricultural production.