BEIJING, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- China has almost won its decades-long battle against poverty, accumulating experience for the global anti-poverty campaign.
This year marks the final year for China to achieve goals of eradicating poverty and building a moderately prosperous society in all respects.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said Tuesday via video link at the general debate of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly that the country has every confidence it will meet the poverty eradication target set out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and that it will achieve that target 10 years in advance.
He also noted that China will lift all rural residents living below the current poverty line out of poverty within the set time frame.
FINAL SPRINT
Over the last 70 years, China has been steadily marching forward on the path of reducing poverty.
A total of 850 million Chinese people have been lifted out of poverty, contributing over 70 percent to global poverty reduction.
The country's rural poor population was slashed from 98.99 million at the end of 2012 to 5.51 million at the end of 2019, with the poverty ratio in rural regions dropping from 10.2 percent to 0.6 percent.
People's livelihoods have also improved. The country's per capita disposable income climbed to 30,733 yuan (about 4,512 U.S. dollars) in 2019, representing an average annual increase of 9.2 percent from 2000. The per capita disposable income in real terms expanded 96.6 percent in the 2011-19 period.
In an interview with Xinhua last week, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke highly of China's contributions to addressing global challenges and its success in poverty reduction, calling China's achievements in poverty reduction "very strong."
REAL ACTION
While China's experience in eliminating poverty has become an example for the world, the country has also undertaken its due responsibilities as a major country and lent a helping hand to other countries escaping poverty.
Since 2015, China has assisted other developing countries through 180 poverty reduction projects, 118 agricultural cooperation projects, 178 aid-for-trade projects, 103 projects concerning ecological conservation and climate change.
At the general debate of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, Xi pledged to provide 50 million U.S. dollars to the China-FAO South-South Cooperation Trust Fund (Phase III).
The South-South Cooperation Trust Fund has already supported over 80 projects in more than 30 developing countries, injecting impetus into global sustainable development.
Other real actions such as proposing the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and setting up the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank have also led some underdeveloped countries to rise above poverty.
According to a research report published by the World Bank in October last year, the BRI is expected to lift 7.6 million people out of extreme poverty and 32 million out of moderate poverty across the world. Enditem
