WorldBankPresidentKimYongJimlaudedChina’spovertyalleviationeffortsasoneofthegreateststoriesinhumanhistory.Currentlytherearestill700millionpeoplelivinginextremepovertyintheworld.China’sexperienceinpovertyreductionhasnaturallydrawnlotsofglobalattention.Withthatinconsideration,ChinaTodayhassetupthecolumn“TargetedPovertyAlleviation”toshareChinesestories,experiences,andpracticesinthisfieldwithourreaders.OnApril4,2018,aMiaowomaninJialiangVillageofGuizhouProvincecarriesmushroomsforloadingontotrucks.INChina,thefightagainstpovertyinthenewerahasmadedecisiveprogress,fundamentallyattributedtoXiJinping’sideaofpovertyreduction,whichservesasaguidelineandplanofactiontoovercomepoverty.Tar-getedpovertyalleviationisthecoreofXiJinping’sideaofpovertyreduction,anditisessentialtosticktothiscoretofightpovertyeffectively.
UnderstandingtheRichMeaning
Theessenceoftheideaistoalwaysadheretothestrategyoftargetedpovertyalleviationinthepracticeofpovertyreduction.InNovember2013,PresidentXiproposedforthefirsttimetheconceptoftargetedpovertyalleviationduringhisinspectiontoShibadongVillage,HunanProvince.Hestressedthat“tofightpovertyinatargetedway,wemusttakeintoaccounttherealfactsandlocalconditions,ratherthanchantingslogansandsettinggoalsbeyondreach.”
Xirepeatedlygaveimportantinstructionsregardingtargetedassistancetothepoor.Tonamesome,“Targetedmeasuresarenowthekeytofightingpoverty.Wemustnotresorttomeasuresthataretoogeneral,vagueandimprecise.”“Thesuccessorfailureofourfightagainstpovertydependsentirelyontargeting.Therootcausesofpovertymustbeidentified,thetargetmustbesetatalllevels,andappropriatemeasuresbetakentoenablethosetrulyneedytoescapepoverty.Weseektruepovertyreduction,andshouldpreventboththepassiveattitudeofwaitingforoutsidehelpandthetemptationofgettingquickresultsthatdomoreharmthangoodinthelongrun.”“Weneedtoincreasefundingandthenumberofprojectstohelpthepoorandtoeradicatepovertyinatargetedway.Measurestakingintoaccounttheactuallivingconditionsofindividualethnicgroups,villagesandhouseholdsshouldbeadoptedinordertoeffectivelycombatpoverty.”“Wemustraisetargetedpovertyalleviationintoafundamentalstrategy.”
XiJinping’sideaoftargetedpovertyalleviationcontinuestoperfectduringtheprocessofpractice,formingasystematic,comprehensive,logical,andwell-definedstrategy.Thisstrategy,amajorinnovationinthedesignofthefightagainstpoverty,followsthemethodologyofmatchingobjectivesandproblemsaswellasstrategiesandoperations.“Helpingthosewhoarereallyinneedandgenuinelyfightingpoverty”isthegoalofthisstrategy.
Torecognizethesixprecisions,(namelypreciselydefinethedisadvantaged,theprojectarrangement,theuseoffunds,themeasurestobeimplementedforthebenefitofpoorhouseholds,theroleoftheofficialssenttothevillages,aswellastheresultstobeachievedintermsofpovertyreduction)isthefundamentalrequirementattheheartofthisstrategy.Toenablethepooresttoovercomepovertythroughfivemeasures,(namelybymeansofproduction,resettlement,ecologicalcompensation,educationaswellassocialsecurity)isthewayforwardtoimplementthisstrategy,indicatingimportanttasksinthefightagainstpoverty.Toaddressthefourissues(whotohelp,whotohelpthepoor,howtofightpoverty,howtoberemovedfromthepovertycategory)arethegoalsandguidelineofproceduralinnovationaswellasconstructingtop-leveldesignandgrass-rootsimplementation.Allthethreepointsmentionedabovemakeupascientificsystemofpoliciesandmeasurestodealwithpoverty.
Practiceisthekeytomanifestingtheoryintoreality.Indeed,XiJinping’sideaoffightingpovertystemsfromaprofoundpracticalfoundation:hisparticularexperienceof“educatedyouth”forsevenyears,hisvariouspositionsinlocalgovernments,hisconcreteactionsforthereductionofpovertysincetakingofficeasgeneralsecretaryoftheCPCCentralCommitteeandheadofstate.
ThefightagainstpovertyhasenteredacrucialphaseinChina.InlightofXiJinping’sthinkinginthisregard,allthelocalitiesanddepartmentsfollowtheprincipleofbeingtargeted,whateverthetask:toregisterpoorpeople,tointensifytheassistancetothepoorvillages,toadaptassistancetothetypeofpovertybeingtackled,tofocusonthemostdisadvantagedareas,toincreaseinvestmentsinthefightagainstpoverty,tomanagetherelatedfunds,ortostrengthentheassessmentoftheworkaccomplished.Allthesetargetedmeasures,usedincombination,haveledtomoreeffectiveworkinthefightagainstpoverty.
Aseriesoftargetedpoliciesandmoves,suchasaccuratelyidentifyingthekeytargetsandcomprehensivelystrengtheningpovertyalleviationfundsupervision,havebeenrolledoutintheneweraasacontinuityatthenationallevelofXi’spracticeofpovertyreductioninFujian.Theyreflectthehighlevelofgovernanceandhaveauniversalmethodologicalsignificanceforadvancingthemodernizationofthenationalgovernancesystemandgovernancecapacity.
WangGuangchao,avillagerinXiadangTownshipofFujianProvince,runsateahouse,whichbringshimastableincome.
FarmersharvestblackfungiinapovertyreliefbaseinTongshengguanVillageinHubeiProvinceonJune2,2018KeytoOvercomingPoverty
Targetedpovertyalleviationisthebasicstrategyforwinningthefightagainstpoverty.Itisalong-termandmeticulous,systematicproject.Towinthebattleagainstpoverty,wemustaccuratelygrasptheessenceofthe“targeted”approach.
Thepremise:changetheoldmindset.ItisimportanttounderstandXiJinping’sideainthisarea,nottoabandontheproposedstrategybecauseoftheobstaclesencounteredinitsapplicationandtopreventoverlyvaguemeasures.
Thefoundation:preciselyidentifythepoorest.Theunderprivilegedmustbegivenaspecialcardtorecordtheirinformation,providesocialsecuritycoverageforallthesepeople,andsetupawithdrawalmechanismtoremovefromthelistofpoorpeoplewhomanagetogetoutofmisery.Thesharingandanalysisofbigdataneedtobestrengthenedtooptimizestrategicdecision-makingandoveralladministration.Thepeoplemustbegivenafundamentalroleinthiscampaign,whilepromotingthedegreeandtheabilityofthemassestoparticipateandreleasingtheirendogenousforces.
Thekey:enhancetheroleofofficialsstationedinpoorvillages.Theelectionandmanagementofofficialssenttopoorruralareasneedtobeimproved,andtargetedassistanceandofficialtrainingwillbebettercombined.
Thecore:implementatargetedpolicy.Thepolicymustbestronglypromotedintheaforementionedfivemeasuresforthebenefitofpoorvillages,households,andinhabitants.Povertyreductionmechanismsintheindustrialsectormustbeestablishedtoeffectivelymobilizepoorpeoplerelyingonthedevelopmentofindustriesandemploymenttoincreaseincomeandgettingridofpoverty.Thereisalsoaneedtosummarizeandpromotevarioussuccessfulmodelsoftargetedpovertyalleviation.
Theguarantee:ensureatargetedwithdrawaloftheregisteredpeopleonthepovertylist.Followingastrictassessmentofthecriteriaandproceduresinplace,itisnecessarytoensurethattheresultsofpovertyreductionareconcreteandpermanent.Torehabilitatedistricts,villages,andunderprivilegedpeople,relevantpoliciestocombatpovertymustbemaintainedforaperiodaftertheyriseabovepovertyinordertoestablishalong-termmechanismtoeradicatepoverty.Thereisanurgentneedtojointlypromotetargetedpovertyreductionandsocio-economicdevelopment,whilelinkingthefightagainstpovertywiththeimplementationoftheruralrevitalizationstrategy.
HUANGCHENGWEIisdirectorandresearcheroftheNationalPublicityandEducationCenterforPovertyReduction,theStateCouncilLeadingGroupOfficeofPovertyReductionandDevelopment.