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China’s Poverty Alleviation Programmes

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The globe is plagued by poverty, which is a persistent condition of human society. The eradication of poverty has always been a goal that should be accomplished since poverty and its related issues, such as hunger, disease, and social disputes, seriously impede individuals from seeking a higher quality of life. The history of humanity is the history of steadfast resistance to poverty. With a population of 1.4 billion, China is the largest developing nation on earth. The nation had long struggled with poverty on a size and intensity that had rarely been witnessed anywhere else in the globe, in addition to having weak foundations and unequal development. As a result, the difficulty of reducing poverty in China is practically unimaginable. 

2014 saw the official adoption of the Targeted Poverty Alleviation Strategy by the Chinese government. With top organisations dedicated to eradicating poverty formed at all administrative levels, the Targeted Poverty Alleviation Strategy serves as a high-profile political campaign. The Communist Party of China (CPC) has fought against poverty for the Chinese people with unflinching faith and will during the past century. The Party Central Committee, led by General Secretary Xi Jinping, has waged a decisive war against poverty that is unparalleled in scope and intensity, and that has benefited the greatest number of people in human history since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012.

Efforts Made by China’s Poverty Alleviation Program:

Philosophy Focusing on People:

The CPC Party has always adhered to a people-centered philosophy despite all the changes in the local and international environments during the past century. By uniting the population and taking the lead in the fight against poverty while armed with strong convictions and a strong resolve, it has kept in mind its basic objective to pursue happiness for the Chinese people and national rejuvenation. The CPC has implemented a number of audacious policies and initiatives to further the cause in the new era, working to ensure that the poor have access to higher salaries, better healthcare, and better living conditions. China’s efforts to eradicate poverty in the new age are a complete and vivid manifestation of its people-centered worldview and the CPC’s commitment to serving the people. Success in reducing poverty has shown that the main issue with poverty is how people should be treated; this cause is essentially driven by the people-centered ideology. Only with this philosophy can a nation identify the poor, adopt tangible measures, and produce real results; only with this philosophy can it tap into limitless motivation, establish a clear direction, and choose the appropriate strategy.

Bringing Attention to China’s Governance of Poverty Alleviation:

Poverty cannot be eradicated by depending exclusively on the efforts of individuals, local governments, or non-governmental forces due to the poor conditions for development in impoverished places and a lack of potential for self-improvement among the poor population. Eliminating poverty must become the duty of the nation and the ruling party; it demands national commitment and action, and it must be raised to the status of a national policy. Strategic planning and top-level design have improved in China. It has published policy documents, such as the Decision on Winning the Battle Against Extreme Poverty and the Guidelines on the Three-Year Action Plan to Win the Battle Against Extreme Poverty, that set out clear objectives, specify strategies, and lay out specific actions that must be taken. Governments have boosted investment on all levels, and a structure of different investments has been set up to ensure financial support for eradicating poverty. China has gathered support for its efforts to reduce poverty by utilizing the strength of its communist system—the capacity to pool resources for important projects. The success in reducing poverty has shown that a nation’s governance begins with its citizens’ needs and that it is the duty of the government to ensure their prosperity. The fight against poverty is a difficult and risky journey. The ruling party and government must fulfill its obligations to the populace, take the initiative, rally support from allies, and make sure that policies are steady and consistent if they are to succeed. The leadership must be dedicated, strong-willed, and determined.

Development and the Eradication of Poverty:

Inadequate development is the main contributor of poverty. China, the largest developing nation in the world with a population of 1.4 billion, is conscious that development is crucial to addressing many of its issues, including poverty. This has always been viewed by the CPC as the most important aspect of running and revitalizing the nation. In order to solve the issue of uneven and insufficient development, it has centered its efforts particularly on the economy. The economy has been expanding quickly via development, and the nation has experienced social stability for a considerable amount of time. China has prioritized reform as a key factor in the fight against poverty and has been working nonstop to eliminate institutional and structural causes of it.

Moving Forward with Reality-Based Poverty Alleviation:

Both the issues of poverty and their causes are varied and intricate. China’s efforts to reduce poverty are grounded in a sober assessment of the situation. Based on its national conditions, stage of development, and changes in the demography, distribution, and structure of the impoverished population, China has established its poverty line, goals, and strategies, and strives to develop better ideas and methods. This project has been advanced gradually and consistently by it. Poverty has unique characteristics and tendencies in both its occurrence and development. A nation must choose a course consistent with its national circumstances, recognize and remove barriers to poverty alleviation, discover motivators for this cause, and continually update its methods and policies as circumstances and local conditions change.

Putting the Underprivileged in Charge:

The main force in eradicating poverty is poor people. In order to effectively reduce poverty, internal and external factors must work together. China recognizes the importance of the poor’s role in society and actively works to empower them to fight poverty. It also works to improve their capacity to contribute to development, share in its benefits, and experience endogenous growth. They gain from the endeavor’s success in eradicating poverty, and they also contribute to China’s progress. The struggle against poverty demonstrates that people are the genuine heroes, the ones who make history and move it forward. Poverty will be eradicated as long as a nation upholds the interests of its citizens, counts on them, recognizes their principal status and spirit of innovation, and encourages the underprivileged to rely on their own labor.

All Resources Being Pooled to Create Synergy:

The reduction of poverty is a difficult, intricate, and systematic task that needs the active involvement of all stakeholders. The CPC has gathered and utilised all available resources in the battle against poverty on the basis of its strict organisational structure and effective working methods. A vast network for reducing poverty has been formed, with the government, society, and market cooperating, government-sponsored initiatives, industry-specific initiatives, and business and societal support complementing one another. It is a framework in which numerous participants from various regions, industries, departments, and companies actively participate. China’s experience has demonstrated that a nation can only successfully combat poverty when it mobilises all facets of society to work together toward a shared goal.

Achievements of China’s Poverty Alleviation Program:

  • China has eradicated poverty in 2020 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and the accompanying worldwide economic collapse in February 2021.
  • Over 100 million people in China’s rural areas were lifted out of poverty. Xi referred to this campaign as China’s major contribution to the world, a “full victory,” and a “miracle for humanity.” 
  • Millions of households have been moved from isolated rural areas to new settlements more suited for economic growth; new roads, homes, and other infrastructure projects have been built; and direct cash transfers have been made available.
  • Beijing sent out approximately 775,000 cadres to survey all rural families in order to identify which homes were poor. Then, to oversee the effort to end poverty, the government assigned a cadre to each poor household.
  • By giving money and goods to rural homes and assisting farmers in selling their goods, many regular people got part in the effort. The campaign also brought back certain former Maoist techniques, like sending medical personnel to remote areas for examinations and treatments.
  • Many poor peasants in rural China did indeed see an improvement in their standard of living as a result of the poverty-eradication effort.

Challenges to the Poverty Alleviation Program of China:

  • Despite its amazing successes, the anti-poverty program was unable to address rural poverty’s underlying causes.
  • China has long suffered from subpar rural education. According to research, 63 percent of students in rural areas leave school before finishing high school.
  • Malnutrition, health issues, and a lack of early childhood development are just a few examples of the issue’s ramifications outside of the school system. In China, due to a lack of early childhood education, more than half of rural children are developmentally stunted and have IQs below 90, putting them at risk for malnutrition.
  • Over 30% of rural kids have eye issues but do not wear glasses, while 40% of Chinese learners in rural areas have intestinal worms.

Conclusion:

Poverty is not inevitable nor insurmountable. According to China’s experience in reducing poverty, the most important qualities are bravery, vision, responsibility, and a will to take on problems. One can overcome poverty and achieve shared prosperity by having a strong will, being determined, and taking practical action. With 1.4 billion people, China has the highest developing nation population in the world. The nation had been plagued by poverty for a very long time, on a scale and with a severity that has rarely been witnessed anywhere else in the world, in addition to its shaky foundations and unequal progress. The final war against extreme poverty has been won by China. The Chinese people have achieved significant progress toward a better living and shared wealth by achieving the aims of the poverty elimination campaign as planned. China is still the greatest developing nation in the world, and it continues to struggle with the disparities between its uneven and insufficient development and the growing aspirations of its citizens for a better living, as well as those between its urban and rural areas and its many regions. China still has a long way to go before achieving the all-round development of its people and universal wealth.



Last Updated : 20 Oct, 2022
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