China should no longer have poor counties within 15 years: top poverty alleviation official
Liu Yongfu, a top official on poverty alleviation, says China should have no more poor counties – at least by government standards – within 15 years
China should have no more poor counties – at least by government standards – within 15 years, a top official on poverty alleviation says.
Liu Yongfu, head of the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development, told the Southern Metropolis News that hundreds of counties in China that were officially designated as poor would be lifted out of poverty by 2020.
If the government was to meet its target of “comprehensively” building a moderately prosperous society within five years, the country could no longer have any poor counties by that stage, Liu, a National People’s Congress delegate, told the newspaper on the sidelines of this week’s parliamentary meetings.
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“If a poor area as big as a county still exists, then can Chinese society still be called moderately prosperous?” Liu was quoted as saying.
China has 592 counties that are officially designated as poor and 14 contiguous poor areas.
The two categories had some overlap and covered a total of 832 of China’s counties, he said.
The government had basically finished its first step in fighting poverty, which was to identify those people living in real poverty, he said.
