China's eradication of absolute poverty is "a great historic accomplishment," said renowned economist and bestselling author Jeffrey Sachs. "China has done more to reduce extreme poverty in a short period of time than any other country in history," Sachs, director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, told Xinhua in a recent video interview. Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chinese leadership didn't delay the goal of eliminating extreme poverty by 2020, but has taken forceful actions to contain the spread of the virus and continued on the fight against poverty, said Sachs, who is also a senior United Nations advisor. "So rather than postponing the goal, China said we need to stop the virus. And I think that was the right strategy," said Sachs. "No one knew whether it could be done, but China showed that it could be done." Sachs served as special advisor to three UN secretaries-general from 2001 to 2018, and is currently director of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. He has authored numerous books, including the New York Times bestseller The End of Poverty.
