Xi Jinping declares ‘complete victory’ in China’s anti-poverty campaign, but some still left behind

China’s President Xi Jinping declared “complete victory” in the country’s campaign to end rural poverty at a ceremony in Beijing on February 25, 2021. In December 2020, he said his leadership had lifted nearly 100 million people above a poverty line of US$2.20 in daily income. The achievement comes after Xi vowed in 2013 to eradicate extreme rural destitution by 2020. However, some have still been left behind in rural areas despite the fact that they have officially been lifted out of poverty.