JUST last November, China’s South West province of Guizhou announced that its last nine impoverished counties have been lifted out of absolute poverty, which translated that all registered impoverished counties and areas in the world’s most populous country have shaken off the pangs of poverty.
This is ten years ahead of the United Nations hypothetical deadline for lifting all humanity out of poverty, outlined in the 2020 Agenda for sustainable development. The average annual net income of the formerly extreme poor people in these counties was reported to have risen to about 1,740 USD, well above the national poverty line.
Crossing the finish line of lifting China’s 1.4 billion people out of poverty well above the poverty line defined by the World Bank is momentous and quite significant beyond the border of the Peoples Republic of China. The country’’s poverty alleviation measures and drive towards the end of poverty was not simply built on raising the incomes of poor people but in giving them a solid foothold to meaningful livelihood.
In designing the pathway to poverty elimination the governing Communist Party of China, CPC, has outlined “two no worries” and “three guarantees” which spelt out that the fundamental criteria to measure poverty elimination must consist that poor people must not worry about food and clothing (two worries) and should be guaranteed compulsory education for their children, basic medical care and safe housing accommodation, (three guarantees).
The core criteria for assessing poverty elimination means that in addition to having sufficient income, China does not consider people to be out of poverty until they have enough food and clothing, guaranteed basic health care, access to compulsory education, and safe housing. Against the background of these vital fundamentals, the end of poverty in China despite being a milestone and epochal, acquires immense global significance and more especially for Africa, where poverty remains the most existential and potent threats to social and political stability.
China’s end of poverty feat is even more significant, when it is understood that the final battle against the scourge was launched in 2013, at the assumption of the leadership of the party and state by President Xi Jinping, who is also the general secretary of the Communist Party of China, CPC. As at then, about 100 million Chinese were still mired in extreme poverty and President Xi Jinping who himself has suffered the cruel hands of poverty took upon himself to lead the battle against the scourge that has tormented China, for millennia.
China’s end of poverty feat is even more significant, when it is understood that the final battle against the scourge was launched in 2013, at the assumption of the leadership of the party and state by President Xi Jinping, who is also the general secretary of the Communist Party of China, CPC. As at then, about 100 million Chinese were still mired in extreme poverty and President Xi Jinping who himself has suffered the cruel hands of poverty took upon himself to lead the battle against the scourge that has tormented China, for millennia.
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