By He Yin
Winning the fight against poverty, China has made absolute poverty, which has haunted the Chinese nation for thousands of years, a thing in the past. As the world’s largest developing country, China’s remarkable success is inspiring the world to achieve a better future regarding poverty reduction.
Poverty reduction has always been a tricky problem that bothers global development and governance. It is considered a basic human right in the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. It is also a primary task of the 17 goals in the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The World Bank estimates that there are still 700 million people in the world living in extreme poverty, while the COVID-19 pandemic has brought further challenges to the cause of poverty reduction.
To realize the mankind’s common ideal of poverty elimination, the world needs extra sincerity, guidance, determination and practical efforts.
China has always been a positive advocate and promoter of poverty alleviation. Its contribution to the cause of global poverty alleviation is reflected in how its own poverty achievements have boosted the world’s confidence, how its poverty reduction experiences have inspired other countries, how it has conducted cooperation on poverty reduction with the rest of the world, and how it is committed to promoting win-win cooperation and common development for all countries to share development results.
China’s characteristic poverty eradication theories receive global attention and have a profound impact. In recent years, many foreign personages visited China to observe and learn from the country’s poverty alleviation experiences, and they all believe that China’s experiences is worth being learning from by other developing countries.
In December 2018, the 73rd UN General Assembly adopted a resolution to eradicate poverty in rural areas, which incorporated the Chinese theories and practices of “targeted poverty alleviation” and “win-win cooperation.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said targeted poverty reduction strategies are the only way to reach those farthest behind and achieve the ambitious targets set out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
China is actively conducting international cooperation on poverty reduction, fulfilling its international obligations and offering as much assistance as it can for developing countries.
It not only works with international organizations including the UN to help other developing countries reduce poverty, but also is advancing cooperation programs under frameworks of the East Asia Cooperation Initiative on Poverty Reduction and the China-Africa poverty reduction plan.
On the banks of the Mekong River, villages have been connected to safe and clean water supply thanks to Chinese experts, who also built wide and flat asphalt roads and new houses there for local communities. In African countries of Madagascar, Nigeria and Mozambique, China’s hybrid rice is also helping local farmers realize their dreams of harvests and income growth. Chinese experts of Juncao, a technology that enables the cultivation of fungi on grass, have spread the seeds of fortune to over 100 countries and regions in the past two decades, finding solutions to human existence and development through the magic of technology.
China always believes that true development is development for all, and development opportunities shall be made equal, and development results shared.
The country is joining hands with global countries to build the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and promoting the alignment between the BRI and the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It has also established of Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank to help relevant countries develop and proposed ten cooperation plans and eight major initiatives with Africa.
China’s sincere support and assistance for other developing countries, especially the least developed countries to eradicate poverty, showcases the due responsibility of a major country. No country can lead the world better than China does in poverty reduction and South-South cooperation, said a foreign dignitary.
“A single flower does not make spring, while one hundred flowers in full blossom bring spring to the garden.” China is willing to work with the rest of the world to build a community with shared future for mankind.
