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China， with a population of 1.3 billion， has emerged as the world’s second largest economy. Nevertheless， poverty remains a big obstacle， with some 70 million people still struggling for adequate food and clothing.
The goals and concrete measures recently unveiled for hastening poverty relief during the country’s 13th Five-Year Plan （FYP， 2016-2020） have attracted attention in large parts of the world.
The Constantly-Raised Poverty Line
“The standard for poverty alleviation differs at different stages，” pointed out Wang Sangui， professor from the School of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development， Renmin University of China. According to an article in People’s Daily， after 1985， the poverty line – for those eligible to receive state aid – was set at an annual per-capita net income of 200 yuan （US$31）； after 2008， it went to 1，196 yuan （US$188）； and， in 2011， China raised the threshold to 2，300 yuan （US$381）.
Obviously， the poverty line has continuously risen， over 10 times， in 30 years. Since 1985， when the government set the poverty line at an annual net income of 200 yuan， the benchmark has been adjusted for the price index every year. Additionally， China also set an extreme poverty line at 785 yuan （US$123）. For a long time， the two lines – for extreme poverty and poverty – ran parallel until 2008， when they were merged.
In the 1980s， those living under the poverty line topped 250 million， accounting for 30.7 percent of China’s rural population. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics in 2014 showed that the figure dropped to 70.17 million in line with the current standard.
During the early days of China’s economic reform and opening-up， the poverty line was not strictly defined： Having enough to eat was the bottom line. Today， however， the standard has been defined by a variety of factors.
“The reasons behind poverty are many， not one，” asserts Prof. Wang. “Poverty is not about food only； it’s about health， education， medical treatment， housing， infrastructure， and social security. That’s why we have to provide all-round assistance.”
Shift of Focus
“China has contributed over 70 percent to minimizing poverty across the planet，” remarks Li Chunguang， head of the international co- operation and social poverty alleviation department of the State Council Leading Group Office for Poverty Alleviation and Development. According to the existing standard of poverty relief in China， the proportion of the poverty-stricken in rural areas dropped from 73.5 percent in 1990 to 7.2 percent in 2014. According to UN’s 2015 Millennium Development Goals Report， China saw a fall in the proportion of impoverished rural population from over 60 percent in 1990 to less than 30 percent in 2000， and to 4.2 percent in 2014.
Over the decades， although poverty alleviation remained central to development strategy， there were changes in focus areas and methods of providing relief.
First， the biggest shift is the change in the target group – from regions and areas to individuals. In 1986， China decided to put emphasis of poverty reduction on four types of regions – former revolutionary bases， areas mainly inhabited by ethnic minorities， border areas， and poverty-stricken areas， which had remained both economically and culturally backward. This kicked off the nationwide development-oriented poverty reduction programs.
Such programs emphasized shaking off poverty by using local natural resources for development production with support from the State， which established special agencies at all levels， formulated poverty-relief standard， and defined poverty-stricken counties that required State assistance.
Today， China has launched more targeting projects for better poverty relief in different areas with divergent conditions. Greater efforts have been made to achieve the objectives in a more scientific and effective manner.
Second， poverty relief has been made more open. “Beginning in the 1980s， China adopted the development-oriented poverty reduction policy， focusing on enhancing the self-development capability of the targets of aid，” interprets Prof. Wang.
Third， government dominates the campaigns. “China differs dramatically from other countries with regards to the mode of poverty relief，” explained Wu Guobao， researcher from the Rural Development Institute， Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. “In most countries， it is a joint effort by the government and social institutions. In China， however， the government plays a leading role by planning and investing heavily in poverty-relief projects.” Such a mode is better suited to the Chinese reality and more effective in making the impoverished help themselves. Not only has China drastically reduced the number of poor people， but it has made their life better by improving the infrastructure and public services， educational conditions， and health services. Accurate Aim
During his inspection tour to western Hunan Province in November 2013， President Xi Jinping first put forward the idea of“aiding the impoverished in an accurate way，” which has already been defined in the 13th FYP.
China has little more than five years for realizing the goal of completing the building of a moderately prosperous society. The time is short and the challenge big to bring over 70 million people out of poverty.
Facing the challenge， the Chinese government can lose no time figuring out where， why， what， and how. It has dispatched working groups to 128，000 poverty-stricken villages and appointed persons in charge of poverty alleviation work. It has called for more ways in which impoverished people should develop production and industries， and find jobs in places outside their own localities.
Indeed， the poverty alleviation mission is a heavy responsibility. “The campaign focus has changed， from the earlier one of 1986 with impoverished counties and villages as targets of assistance， to one which is now accurately aiming at individuals，” observed Researcher Wu.
The goals and concrete measures recently unveiled for hastening poverty relief during the country’s 13th Five-Year Plan （FYP， 2016-2020） have attracted attention in large parts of the world.
The Constantly-Raised Poverty Line
“The standard for poverty alleviation differs at different stages，” pointed out Wang Sangui， professor from the School of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development， Renmin University of China. According to an article in People’s Daily， after 1985， the poverty line – for those eligible to receive state aid – was set at an annual per-capita net income of 200 yuan （US$31）； after 2008， it went to 1，196 yuan （US$188）； and， in 2011， China raised the threshold to 2，300 yuan （US$381）.
Obviously， the poverty line has continuously risen， over 10 times， in 30 years. Since 1985， when the government set the poverty line at an annual net income of 200 yuan， the benchmark has been adjusted for the price index every year. Additionally， China also set an extreme poverty line at 785 yuan （US$123）. For a long time， the two lines – for extreme poverty and poverty – ran parallel until 2008， when they were merged.
In the 1980s， those living under the poverty line topped 250 million， accounting for 30.7 percent of China’s rural population. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics in 2014 showed that the figure dropped to 70.17 million in line with the current standard.
During the early days of China’s economic reform and opening-up， the poverty line was not strictly defined： Having enough to eat was the bottom line. Today， however， the standard has been defined by a variety of factors.
“The reasons behind poverty are many， not one，” asserts Prof. Wang. “Poverty is not about food only； it’s about health， education， medical treatment， housing， infrastructure， and social security. That’s why we have to provide all-round assistance.”
Shift of Focus
“China has contributed over 70 percent to minimizing poverty across the planet，” remarks Li Chunguang， head of the international co- operation and social poverty alleviation department of the State Council Leading Group Office for Poverty Alleviation and Development. According to the existing standard of poverty relief in China， the proportion of the poverty-stricken in rural areas dropped from 73.5 percent in 1990 to 7.2 percent in 2014. According to UN’s 2015 Millennium Development Goals Report， China saw a fall in the proportion of impoverished rural population from over 60 percent in 1990 to less than 30 percent in 2000， and to 4.2 percent in 2014.
Over the decades， although poverty alleviation remained central to development strategy， there were changes in focus areas and methods of providing relief.
First， the biggest shift is the change in the target group – from regions and areas to individuals. In 1986， China decided to put emphasis of poverty reduction on four types of regions – former revolutionary bases， areas mainly inhabited by ethnic minorities， border areas， and poverty-stricken areas， which had remained both economically and culturally backward. This kicked off the nationwide development-oriented poverty reduction programs.
Such programs emphasized shaking off poverty by using local natural resources for development production with support from the State， which established special agencies at all levels， formulated poverty-relief standard， and defined poverty-stricken counties that required State assistance.
Today， China has launched more targeting projects for better poverty relief in different areas with divergent conditions. Greater efforts have been made to achieve the objectives in a more scientific and effective manner.
Second， poverty relief has been made more open. “Beginning in the 1980s， China adopted the development-oriented poverty reduction policy， focusing on enhancing the self-development capability of the targets of aid，” interprets Prof. Wang.
Third， government dominates the campaigns. “China differs dramatically from other countries with regards to the mode of poverty relief，” explained Wu Guobao， researcher from the Rural Development Institute， Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. “In most countries， it is a joint effort by the government and social institutions. In China， however， the government plays a leading role by planning and investing heavily in poverty-relief projects.” Such a mode is better suited to the Chinese reality and more effective in making the impoverished help themselves. Not only has China drastically reduced the number of poor people， but it has made their life better by improving the infrastructure and public services， educational conditions， and health services. Accurate Aim
During his inspection tour to western Hunan Province in November 2013， President Xi Jinping first put forward the idea of“aiding the impoverished in an accurate way，” which has already been defined in the 13th FYP.
China has little more than five years for realizing the goal of completing the building of a moderately prosperous society. The time is short and the challenge big to bring over 70 million people out of poverty.
Facing the challenge， the Chinese government can lose no time figuring out where， why， what， and how. It has dispatched working groups to 128，000 poverty-stricken villages and appointed persons in charge of poverty alleviation work. It has called for more ways in which impoverished people should develop production and industries， and find jobs in places outside their own localities.
Indeed， the poverty alleviation mission is a heavy responsibility. “The campaign focus has changed， from the earlier one of 1986 with impoverished counties and villages as targets of assistance， to one which is now accurately aiming at individuals，” observed Researcher Wu.