China Creates a World Miracle in Poverty Reduction

Before I came to Canada for my posting in 2019, many friends recommended Arxan to me, which is a small city in the foothills of Greater Khingan Range in north China. They told me that the scenery there was as beautiful as that of Banff in Canadian Rockies and was quite worth a visit. It is a pity that I was unable to make a trip due to a tight schedule.

After I arrived in Canada, I looked up some materials about Arxan out of curiosity and found this small city was indeed unusual with beautiful lakes, forests and snowcapped mountains, as well as vast grasslands and the largest group of hot springs in the world. Unlike Banff, Arxan had remained a key national-level poverty-stricken county by 2011. There was no adequate food or clothing for locals, let alone any tourism industry. Thanks to the national strategy of poverty alleviation through tourism development, the tourism industry in Arxan was promoted, helping the poor people blaze a trail full of hope featuring “tourism plus poverty alleviation”. The tourism revenue of Arxan reached 5.27 billion yuan (about $813.16 million) in 2018, increasing by 280 percent compared to 2013. In 2019, Arxan was officially removed from the list of national-level poverty-stricken counties.

Arxan is merely an epitome of the miraculous poverty alleviation of China. Over the past 70 years, the Chinese government has lifted 850 million people out of poverty. During the four decades of reform and opening-up alone, 750 million people have been lifted out of poverty. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Chinese government has given top priority to the battle against poverty in its governance and organized the world’s biggest and toughest poverty-relief battle in human history. Since 2012, an average of more than ten million people, equivalent to the population of a medium-sized European country, had been lifted out of poverty each year. In November 2020, China accomplished its poverty alleviation target of the new era on schedule, with all 832 poor counties removed from poverty, eradicating absolute poverty and overall regional poverty, and achieving the poverty reduction target of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 10 years ahead of schedule.

China takes “targeted poverty alleviation” as a basic strategy, which is also a key feature of its poverty alleviation effort. The poverty alleviation plans are tailored to different groups of people, which include increasing production, relocating the poor, ecological compensation, strengthening education, improving social security, etc. China has also introduced a list of top 10 poverty alleviation projects such as poverty alleviation through e-commerce, tourism, and photovoltaic power generation projects. With such policies, China’s poverty elimination actions have benefited a wide range of Chinese people including minorities. By the end of 2019, over 2.92 million people in northwest China’s Xinjiang autonomous region have shaken off poverty. In Xizang autonomous region in southwest China, all 74 poor counties have been removed from the poverty list, and the net income per year per capita increased from 1,499 yuan at the end of 2015 to 9,328 yuan in 2019, which means eliminating absolute poverty in history for the first time. In Guangxi autonomous region in southwest China, a provincial-level region with the largest population of minorities in China, all the 54 poor counties have been removed from the poverty list, and all the people of the Zhuang ethnic group have been lifted from poverty.

China has made great contributions to the world poverty alleviation process. China has the highest number of people moving out of poverty worldwide, accounting for over 70 percent of the global poverty alleviation effort. Besides, it established the China-UN Peace and Development Fund, South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund, and made solid progress in cooperation projects under such frameworks as the Pilot Project of Poverty Reduction Cooperation in East Asia and the China-Africa Poverty Reduction and People’s Welfare Plan. China has helped establish 24 agricultural technology demonstration centers in Africa, benefiting more than 500,000 local people.

Poverty eradication is a challenge for all and the top priority of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the world population living in extreme poverty will exceed 1 billion by 2030 due to the COVID-19. Thus, realizing global poverty eradication is still an ongoing battle. China and Canada have a lot to share in eradicating poverty, promoting gender equality and tackling climate change. It is our common aspiration to pursue a better life. Let’s join hands to make greater contributions to world poverty alleviation and strive for a better future for mankind.

中国减贫创造了世界奇迹

丛培武

在我2019年来加拿大任职之前，曾有不少朋友向我推荐位于大兴安岭山麓的一座小城—阿尔山，认为那里景色十分优美，堪比落基山脉中的班夫，非常值得一看。遗憾的是，由于准备工作紧张，我未能成行。

抵加后，出于好奇心，我查阅了一些关于阿尔山的材料，发觉这座小城的确不同寻常。那里有美丽的湖泊森林雪山，还有广阔的草原和世界上最大的温泉群。与班夫不同的是，直到2011年，阿尔山还是中国国家级的重点贫困县，不仅没有游客，当地人的温饱都成问题。在国家旅游扶贫战略的帮助下，那里的旅游业快速发展，走出了一条“旅游+扶贫”带动贫困人口稳定脱贫的希望之路，2018年旅游收入52.7亿元，较2013年增长280%，2019年阿尔山正式退出中国国家级贫困县行列。

阿尔山的成功只是中国减贫奇迹的一个缩影。中国政府70多年间成功实现8.5亿人摆脱贫困。仅改革开放40多年来，中国就有7.5亿人脱贫。特别是中共十八大以来，中国政府把脱贫攻坚摆在治国理政的突出位置，组织实施了人类历史上规模最大、力度最强的脱贫攻坚战。自2012年起，中国每年减贫规模都在1000万人以上，相当于欧洲一个中等国家人口规模。2020年11月，中国如期完成新时代脱贫目标，832个贫困县全部脱贫摘帽，消除了绝对贫困和区域性整体贫困，提前10年实现联合国2030年可持续发展议程的减贫目标。

中国减贫的关键特点是把“精准扶贫”作为扶贫开发的基本方略，对不同贫困人口分别制定不同的脱贫方案，通过发展生产、易地搬迁、生态补偿、发展教育、社会保障兜底等实现脱贫。中国还实施电商扶贫、旅游扶贫、光伏扶贫等“十大扶贫工程”。在上述政策带动下，中国减贫成效覆盖包括少数民族在内的广大人群。截至2019年底，新疆累计脱贫人口达292.32万人。西藏74个贫困县全部“摘帽”，人均纯收入从2015年底的1499元增加到2019年的9328元，历史性消除绝对贫困。作为中国少数民族人口最多的省份，广西实现54个贫困县全部“摘帽”，境内的壮族人口整体脱贫。

中国的脱贫攻坚为全球减贫事业做出了重要贡献。作为世界上减贫人口最多的国家，中国对全球减贫贡献率超过70%。中国设立了“中国—联合国和平与发展基金”和“南南合作援助基金”，并在“东亚减贫合作倡议”、“中非减贫惠民合作计划”框架下扎实推进合作项目。中国在非洲援建了24个农业技术示范中心，惠及50多万当地民众。

消除贫困是人类面临的共同挑战，也是2030年可持续发展议程的首要目标。据联合国开发计划署数据，受新冠疫情影响，2030年极端贫困总人数将超过10亿，实现全球减贫目标更加任重道远。中国和加拿大在消除贫困、促进男女平等、应对气候变化等方面有很多共同语言。追求美好生活是中加两国人民的共同愿望，我们可以携手努力，为国际减贫事业、为人类更光明的未来做出更大贡献。