Updated 25 February 2021 at 18:38 IST
Xi Jinping declares China's 'complete victory' in eradicating extreme poverty
Chinese President Xi Jinping on February 25 declared that his country has scored a “complete victory” in its fight against extreme poverty.
Chinese President Xi Jinping on February 25 declared that his country has scored a “complete victory” in its fight against extreme poverty. While speaking at a ceremony in Beijing, Jinping said over an eight-year period, nearly 100 million people have been lifted out of poverty. He said that the “arduous task” of eradicating extreme poverty has been fulfilled and further added that a “human miracle” has been created that would “go down in history”.
According to reports, China has a population of around 1.4 billion. The Chinese President said that all people in rural areas have been lifted out of poverty. With the recent announcement, China now has also achieved the UN goal of poverty eradication 10 years ahead of the 2030 deadline.
Jinping reported that over the past eight years, the final 98.99 million impoverished rural residents living under the current poverty line have all been lifted out of poverty. He said that all the 832 impoverished counties and 128,000 impoverished villages have been removed from the poverty list. Further, the Chinese leader also added that since he assumed power, China has invested accumulative fiscal funds of nearly $246 billion into poverty alleviation over the past eight years.
9.6 million relocated from impoverished areas
On Thursday, Jinping said that according to the World Bank’s international poverty line, the number of Chinese people lifted out of poverty over the past 40 years accounts for more than 70 per cent of the global total. PTI reported that the complete eradication of poverty in China was the main goal announced by Jinping when he came to power towards the end of 2012. It is worth noting that at that time, China had about 100 million poor people, mostly living in remote areas. Jinping said that shaking off poverty is not the finish line, but the starting point of a new life and new endeavour.
The Chinese Communist Party has been working to improve people’s livelihood since its foundation. Jinping said over 10 million poor people were lifted out of poverty on average each year since he took overpower. He also added that around 25.68 million poor people in China from 7.9 million households have seen their dilapidated houses renovated since late 2012 and over 9.6 million Chinese people have been relocated from impoverished areas since last 2012. The Chinese leader said, “Improving lives in rural areas key to securing victory to build a moderately prosperous society by 2021”.
(With inputs from PTI)
Published By : Bhavya Sukheja
Published On: 25 February 2021 at 18:38 IST