The Spread of Un—poverty

Hou Weili

Residents of rural Aye Chan Thar Village in Tetgone Township north of Myanmar's capital Nay Pyi Taw are looking forward to the year 2021. By then， they will have bid farewell to muddy roads， dirty water and frequent blackouts. Instead， they will have access to paved roads， clean tap water and uninterrupted power supply. Public areas in residential neighborhoods， major roads， temples and schools will no longer be left in the dark.

“We expect the village to take on a whole new look and our living standards to increase dramatically，” said the village chief.

Built by immigrants from four smaller villages， the settlement has been running short of farmland， water and irrigation facilities among other infrastructure. According to the World Bank's 2008 poverty threshold of US$1.25 per day， as much as 65 percent of Aye Chan Thar Village's population struggles with poverty.

Inspiring hope for the village is a China-aided pilot project for poverty reduction launched this February in Myanmar. It is a part of a cooperation initiative on poverty alleviation in East Asia involving China， ASEAN members， Japan and South Korea. At the ASEAN Plus Three （APT） Summit in 2014， China pledged 100 million yuan （US$14.5 million） for a plan to address poverty issues in rural areas and set up demonstration programs for poverty reduction in East Asia.

The pilot project covers Aye Chan Thar Village and neighboring Min Pyin Village where construction of infrastructure including roads， water facilities and agricultural facilities will be promoted and Chinese professionals on poverty alleviation will be dispatched to offer expertise. Upon completion， some 7，800 residents from about 1，400 rural households will see significantly improved living standards.

The project is just one example of China's ongoing efforts to share its lessons and experiences on targeted poverty alleviation and elimination with developing nations， especially those in the ASEAN region. After accomplishing remarkable feats in domestic poverty alleviation， China is helping neighboring ASEAN members meet the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goal of eradicating extreme poverty on schedule by improving rural infrastructure， public services and residents' self-development capabilities.

Leading the Fight Against Poverty

Poverty alleviation has always remained high on the agenda of the Chinese Government since the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949. Since the introduction of the reform and opening up policy， China has carried out large-scale development-oriented poverty alleviation programs through a series of projects.

Guided by detailed policies， such efforts have resulted in some incredible outcomes over the past four decades， as 800 million people have been lifted out of poverty across China， according to Tan Weiping， deputy head of the International Poverty Reduction Center in China.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China （CPC） in 2012， the CPC Central Committee with Xi Jinping at the core has made lifting all impoverished people out of poverty an indicator of a moderately prosperous society in all respects. Targeted poverty alleviation and elimination is the means to this end.

According to Tan， the impoverished population has shrunk dramatically over the past five years， with the rural poor population decreasing from 98.99 million in 2012 to 30.46 million in 2017， an annual reduction of 13.17 million on average. Incidence of poverty dropped from 10.2 percent to 3.1 percent， the most precipitous drop in the history of China's fight against poverty.

In 2016， 25 impoverished counties were successfully lifted out of poverty， followed by another 125 in 2017， marking steady progress in addressing the issue of regional poverty， he added. “The CPC Central Committee's 2015 meeting on poverty alleviation and development heralded a new phase in China's fight against poverty after nearly four decades of unremitting efforts，" said Tan.

At the meeting， China pledged that by 2020， the impoverished rural population would have stable access to adequate food and clothing， compulsory education， and basic medical services and housing； the growth rate of per-capita disposable income in impoverished rural areas would exceed the national average； indices of major basic public services in rural areas would mirror the national average； rural population living below the current poverty threshold and all impoverished counties would be lifted out of poverty； and the problems related to regional poverty would be solved.

“Achieving these goals would mean China has met the poverty alleviation goals set by the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 10 years ahead of schedule，” Tan added.

A Common Goal

Eradicating poverty is a common aspiration of mankind and a shared developmental challenge for both China and ASEAN countries. As was shown in the 2015 UN Millennium Development Goals Report， the Chinese population lifted out of poverty accounts for 70 percent of the world's total.

A handful of approaches at targeted poverty elimination have been proven particularly effective， especially in addressing extreme poverty. “The key to targeted poverty alleviation and elimination is to take targeted measures in terms of recipients， projects and funding，” noted Tan. In practice， attempts are made to address poverty issues by developing local industries， relocating impoverished residents to other places， offering compensation for ecological conservation， improving educational conditions and providing a social safety net.

Liza Maza， chief of the National Anti-Poverty Commission of the Philippines， praised China's achievements in this realm and regards the experiences as inspirational. “The Chinese Government deserves credit for its determined and effective implementation of the poverty alleviation policies，" she declared at the 12th ASEAN-China Forum on Social Development and Poverty Reduction held in Manila in June.

Economic development is unbalanced among ASEAN members， noted Zhao Qinghai， a researcher with China Institute of International Studies. “Except for Singapore， Brunei and Malaysia where their economies are well-developed， every member country faces the daunting challenge of growing their economies and raising people out of poverty，” he said. Over 60 percent of people in Laos and 40 percent in Cambodia， Indonesia， the Philippines and Vietnam live in poverty on less than US$2 a day.

“Poverty is the root cause of instability and bottlenecks economic progress，” Zhao added.

To ASEAN nations suffering from the issue who welcome help， China is ready to share its experiences. “Especially since the turn of the 21st Century， cooperation in poverty alleviation has expanded as part of rapidly advancing China-ASEAN relations，” Zhao explained. Alongside material and technological assistance， China has established several institutional mechanisms for poverty alleviation exchange with ASEAN countries including the ASEAN-China Forum on Social Development and Poverty Reduction， the cooperation initiative on poverty alleviation in East Asia and the APT Village Leaders Exchange Program for Poverty Reduction Learning.

Applicable Experience

The methods to be shared through those platforms are development-oriented and tailored to address the root causes of poverty. “The program here targets regional poverty from the village level，” illustrated Li Dianbin， head of the expert team to Aye Chan Thar Village sent by the Center for International Poverty Reduction and Development of Yunnan Province.

Assistance measures are carried out in a holistic manner. The Chinese team is working to aid farmers in increasing crop yields by introducing better quality seeds， promoting standardized breeding industries and establishing rural cooperatives for textile products. “Alongside smarter planting， rural residents will stabilize their incomes through sideline businesses，” Li revealed. “We also help them with vocational and technical training programs to leave them capable of getting prosperous on their own.”

Myanmar Minister of Agriculture， Livestock and Irrigation Aung Thu affirmed that the resources supplied by the Chinese team were much-needed by locals. “The program aligns perfectly with Myanmar's national economic policy of inclusive and sustainable development and will inspire further good practices and provide valuable experience for Myanmar，” he declared.

Participants of the APT Village Leaders Exchange Program for Poverty Reduction Learning found all of the experiences applicable. “Living standards are immensely improved through integrated growth of planting， breeding and agro-tourism，” explained a village deputy chief from Lao during the third Village Leaders Exchange Program for Poverty Reduction Learning in Nanning， Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region， China， in 2016. “The unique paths for rural development in China are incredibly inspiring.”

Through the platform， he also learned about practices like offering tailored financial services to the needy and pooling efforts and resources through cooperatives to promote agricultural businesses. “We could replicate all of these strategies in my village one-by-one，” asserted the village chief.