China has been working hard to reach the U.N.’s Millennium Development Goals, and is the first developing country to meet the target of reducing the population living in poverty by half ahead of the 2015 deadline.
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President Xi Jinping on Friday reiterated China’s resolve to completely eradicate poverty within its borders in the next six years.
China offered 100 million yuan for rural poverty reduction projects in East Asia.
“However, poverty is still a salient problem in China”, he said, adding that 82 million people (2013 numbers) are still trapped in poverty using China’s poverty level, and 200 million according to the World Bank standard of $1.25 a day.
“China has intensified cooperation with developing countries in poverty relief in recent years, marking a step further from merely sharing experience and expanding”, said Tan Weiping, deputy head of the global Poverty Reduction Center of China.
The United Nations said on an earlier occasion that China has achieved numerous MDG targets ahead of schedule, which has greatly contributed to overall realization of the goals globally.
The government has increasingly supported developing countries in the fight to alleviate poverty. Last month, while speaking at the UN, President Xi pledged that China will create a $2 billion fund to assist developing nations in the fight against poverty. “Therefore, on behalf of the people and government of Cambodia, I would like to deeply appreciate the people and government of People’s Republic of China for the contribution in this cause”, said the Prime Minister.
China’s progress in anti-poverty work has also provided experience for countries still plagued by extreme poverty. The achievement accounts for 70 percent of the global success in reducing poverty.
However, the battle against poverty is still not an easy task and more effort is needed for further progress.
As of the end of 2014, the country still county 70.17 million people in rural areas living below the country’s poverty line of 2,300 yuan (US$376) in annual income.
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Similar to other countries around the world, he said, Cambodia has also introduced sector-wide and sectoral policy and strategy as well as having heavily invested in economic and social infrastructure such as roads, electricity, water and irrigation systems, education, health, and other social services in order to promote inclusive and sustainable growth, socio-economic development and ensure poverty reduction of more than a targeted 1 percent per annum.
