Daily Times

China has won the final battle against extreme poverty. By achieving the goals of the poverty elimination campaign as scheduled, the Chinese people have made solid strides towards a better life and common prosperity. Yet China remains the world’s largest developing country, still confronted by the gap between unbalanced and inadequate development and the people’s growing desire for a better life, and by the gaps between urban and rural areas and between regions. China still has much to do in order to realize people’s all-round development and common prosperity for all.

Removing the label of extreme poverty is not the end, but the beginning of a new life and a new journey. The CPC will always remain committed to its founding mission, striving for the people’s wellbeing and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. It will always put the people before everything else, and continue to work for people’s all-round development, and common prosperity and a better life for all.

There will be no national rejuvenation without a thriving countryside. Following the victory in the final battle against extreme poverty, China will continue to consolidate the results of poverty elimination, dovetail new measures with rural revitalization, and shift its focus in work related to agriculture, rural areas and rural people. In the new era, China will act on its new development philosophy and build on its new development paradigm. It will prioritize affairs related to agriculture, rural areas and rural people, and follow a socialist path with Chinese characteristics in revitalizing the countryside by introducing more vigorous measures and pooling more resources.

By 2035, China will have achieved basic socialist modernization. With decisive progress in rural revitalization by that time, agriculture and rural areas will be modernized and fundamentally restructured. Farmers will benefit from the quality employment which comes with better jobs, relative poverty will be further alleviated, and concrete progress will be made in achieving common prosperity for all. Rural areas will enjoy the same basic public services as urban areas, brought about by improved systems and mechanisms for urban-rural integration. Farmers will enjoy a better cultural environment in civil and neighborly communities, and benefit from improved rural governance. There will be a fundamental improvement in the eco-environment; the goal of building a beautiful, livable countryside will be basically realized.

By 2050, China will have become a great modern socialist country in every dimension, realizing the Second Centenary Goal and fully revitalizing the countryside. At that time, China will have a strong agriculture, a beautiful and revitalized countryside, and prosperous farmers, enjoying across-the-board progress in society and the economy, and thriving endeavors in every sector. At that time, the Chinese people will embrace a happier life in common prosperity, and the nation will continue to march towards higher goals of all-round development of the people and common prosperity for all.

China cannot develop in isolation from the rest of the world; and the world needs China for further development. With this in mind, China has always been a builder of global peace, a contributor to global growth, and a guardian of the international order. In the future, a more prosperous China will also be more open and inclusive; it will interact more constructively with the international community, and make a greater contribution to building a better world.

China has implemented large-scale planned and organized poverty alleviation programs. Standards for poverty alleviation were formulated according to its social and economic development and the basic living needs of its poor populations.

In 1986, China set its first poverty standard at RMB206, designed to provide adequate food and clothing for 125 million poor. In 2001, when formulating the Outline of Development-driven Poverty Alleviation in Rural Areas (2001-2010), the nation raised the standard to RMB865 for 94.23 million poor. In 2011, when formulating the Outline of Development-driven Poverty Alleviation in Rural Areas (2011-2020), China readjusted the standard to RMB2,300 (based on the 2010 price index) to help 122 million poor.

In the final stage of fighting extreme poverty, impoverished people in China were registered and deregistered by household. The criteria are personal incomes, and the household’s situation with reference to the Two Assurances and Three Guarantees. The former requires that the annual average per capita income for a household remains steady above China’s current poverty line. The latter refers to guarantees of adequate food and clothing, and access to compulsory education, basic medical services, and safe housing for impoverished rural residents.

China’s standards for deregistering those who have emerged from poverty are comprehensive, including income, and the extent to which they are assured the rights to subsistence and development. These standards reflect the realities of China’s social and economic development as well as the basic requirements for achieving moderate prosperity in all respects.