POVERTY: China to strengthen efforts to alleviate rural poverty

2011-04-26
BEIJING, April 26 (Xinhua) -- China on Tuesday vowed to intensify efforts to alleviate poverty in rural areas over the next 10 years, in an attempt to improve Chinese citizens' quality of life and narrow the country's growing income gap.
That was learned from a meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) held in Beijing on Tuesday.
During the meeting, which was presided over by President Hu Jintao, participants studied the status of China's development-oriented poverty reduction work and the challenges the country is facing in this regard. They also discussed the development-oriented Poverty Reduction Program for Rural China (2011-2020), as well as several other issues.
China had made great strides in poverty alleviation over the past 10 years, with fewer people in poverty than ever before and farmers' incomes rising steadily, said a statement released after the meeting.
China's poverty alleviation has helped to boost the country's economic development and maintain social stability, the statement said.
"Expanding the fight against poverty through development projects is an important step to improve the well-being of the people in China, to narrow the income gap and to ensure that all people share the benefits of China's incredible economic growth," said the statement.
Over the next ten years, the government will intensify its efforts to eradicate poverty by increasing the number of poverty alleviation programs, increasing budgetary poverty-relief funds and enhancing the capabilities of people living in poor areas to develop their local economies, while making active efforts to carry out international cooperation, the statement said.
"China will work to attain a raft of goals by the year of 2020, including providing poverty alleviation aid recipients with adequate amounts of food and clothing, ensuring that these people receive compulsory education and enjoy access to basic medical care and housing," said the statement.
Also, the growth rate of the per capita net income for farmers in poverty-riddent areas will exceed the national average by the year 2020.
Party and government authorities at all levels of the country were told to keep in mind their sense of responsibilities in development-oriented poverty reduction and be conscientious about their work, so as to accomplish the objectives set for development-oriented poverty reduction by the year 2020.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-04/26/c_13846874.htm