China’s Successful Experience in Poverty Reduction中國扶貧成功之路

鄭豐田

China’s reform and opening up originated2 in rural areas with adjustment of the relationship between farmers and land. Before 1978， hundreds of millions of Chinese people were struggling to meet their basic daily needs. After 40 years of development， more than 700 million people in rural areas of China were lifted out of3 poverty. This not only laid a solid foundation for China to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects， but also made great contributions to poverty alleviation4 and development for all mankind.

In 1978， farmers from 18 households in Xiaogang Village of Fengyang County， Anhui Province took the leads in signing a secret agreement to divide communal5 farmland into individual plots， which inadvertently6 gave birth to the household responsibility system7 and lit the torch for China’s rural reform.

By breaking up the people’s commune system， removing many of the constraints of the planned economy and implementing8 the household responsibility system， farmers received contracted9 land they could freely decide what to grow， which greatly stimulated their enthusiasm for agricultural production.

Rural reform laid a solid foundation for the country’s development in the next stage. From 1978 to 1985， the profound reform of China’s rural economic system provided a strong impetus10 for unconventional11 economic growth and dramatic reduction of the poverty-stricken12 population. According the standards at that time， 50 percent of the rural population in poverty met their basic needs during this period. And even according to the poverty alleviation standards updated in 2011， more than 100 million rural people were lifted out of poverty during the period.

From the 1980s to the 1990s， township enterprises13 developed rapidly in the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta， which brought tremendous14 influence to the development of China’s rural areas and greatly promoted the progress of national poverty alleviation.

Thanks to rural reform and scientific and technological progress in agriculture， a huge number of rural laborers have been emancipated15 from the land. Many farmers set up township enterprises to become entrepreneurs16， driving more villagers to work in town for considerably increased income. Many credit township enterprises with17 fueling18 a leap forward in the transformation of farmers to workers.

To eliminate19 poverty， China promulgated20 and implemented the Seven-Year Priority Poverty Alleviation Program in 1994， which was designed to lift 80 million people out of absolute poverty through development-oriented poverty relief efforts in a period of seven years from 1994 to 2000.

During the seven years after the program was implemented， the central government invested 124 billion yuan in poverty alleviation， and the rural poverty-stricken population dropped from 80 million to 32 million.

To improve basic production and living conditions and consolidate the achievements of meeting basic needs of people in poverty-stricken areas， from 2001 to 2010， China’s poverty alleviation policy narrowed its target from county level to village level and implemented the strategy of developing the whole village instead of individuals.

In 2011， China launched21 the Outline for Development-Oriented Poverty Alleviation for China’s Rural Areas （2011—2020） and put forward new poverty alleviation goals and strategies. A dozen of contiguous22 poor areas were designated as the main battlefield for poverty alleviation and development， and the poverty alleviation standard was raised by 92 percent. According to the new standard， by the end of 2012， the number of people defined as living under the poverty line had risen to 98.99 million.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2012， China has comprehensively23 deepened reform in the field of poverty alleviation， innovated ideas， measures and institutional mechanisms， and established the basic strategy of target poverty relief24， optimizing25 achievements in poverty alleviation in the country to levels never seen before.

From 2013 to 2017， the poverty-stricken population in China’s rural areas was reduced from 98.99 million to 30.46 million， according to the current poverty alleviation standards， with average annual poverty reduction of 13.7 million people. A solid step has been taken to solve overall poverty in rural China.

Living standards and quality have generally improved in rural areas of China， and even production and living conditions in the poorest areas have seen tremendous changes.

Traffic problems have severely restricted rural economic development， but over the past several years， China has continued to invest heavily in infrastructure26. By the end of 2017， 98.45 percent of towns and 96.87 percent of administrative villages in poverty-stricken areas had paved roads. And the proportion of administrative villages in poverty-stricken areas with access to electricity， telephones and television signals has increased to more than 98 percent.

Social undertakings27 such as education and healthcare have also developed rapidly in those areas. The rate of illiteracy28 and semi-illiteracy has continued to decline， the completion rate of compulsory education has risen， and the quality of the labor force has improved significantly.

Furthermore， due to the implementation of the new rural cooperative medical system and other systems， healthcare conditions and service capabilities have continued to increase in rural areas.

According to the poverty alleviation standard of per capita annual net income of 2，300 yuan， the poverty-stricken population in rural China decreased from 770 million in 1978 to about 30 million in 2017， with more than 700 million people lifted out of poverty.

According to the US$1.9 a day standard that the World Bank uses for global poverty monitoring， the global poverty-stricken population decreased by 1.1 billion during the period from 1981 to 2012， a drop of 55.1 percent. In contrast， the poverty-stricken population in China dropped by 790 million during the same period， accounting for 71.82 percent of the global number. China created a miracle in global poverty reduction history and contributed Chinese wisdom and a Chinese approach to global poverty alleviation undertakings.

China’s sound national governance structure has ensured the in-depth promotion of national strategies， effective implementation of national policies and rapid economic and social development， which has been a core factor in China’s successful poverty reduction.

China has set up special poverty alleviation organizations， integrated poverty alleviation and development into its national development strategy， formulated poverty alleviation strategies and plans， carried out poverty alleviation actions targeting specific groups of people， and promoted implementation of policies from top to grassroots29 level.

Implementation efforts from the central government down to local governments have been strong and effective， reflecting sound governance capacity and good operational efficiency of the Chinese government as well as the advantages of the Chinese system.

China considers targeted poverty alleviation an important measure to tackle key problems in poverty reduction work. It involves finding the root causes of poverty before prescribing a suitable remedy and delivering targeted treatment.

The days of general poverty alleviation efforts have given way to30 a compound poverty alleviation governance system. Led by the government and focused on the poverty-stricken population as well as the grassroots rural communities， it has attracted enterprises， non-governmental organizations and volunteer groups to participate in poverty reduction efforts， which effectively promotes targeted poverty alleviation and helps achieve the goal of sound governance of poverty-stricken areas.

Since its reform and opening up began in the late 1970s， China’s economy has maintained high-speed growth for a long time. Alongside letting some people get rich first， the country has also handled the issue of equity and development well by improving the social security system and subsidizing31 the poor with tools to escape poverty.

中國的改革開放始于農村地區農民與土地關系的調整。1978年之前，數億中國人還在為溫飽問題發愁。經過40年的發展，中國有7億多農村貧困人口脫貧。這不僅為全面建設小康社會打下了堅實的基礎，而且為全人類的扶貧和發展做出了巨大貢獻。

1978年，安徽省鳳陽縣小崗村的18戶農民率先實行包產到戶，無意中誕生了家庭聯產承包責任制，并點燃了中國農村改革的火炬。

打破人民公社制度、破除計劃經濟的諸多束縛、實行家庭聯產承包責任制后，農民獲得了可以自由耕種的承包土地，使他們以巨大的熱情投入到農業生產之中。

農村改革為下一階段的城國家發展奠定了堅實的基礎。從1978年到1985年，中國農村經濟體制的深刻變革為非常規的經濟增長與貧困人口的銳減提供了強大助力。根據當時的標準，50%的農村貧困人口在這一時期基本實現溫飽。甚至根據2011年更新的脫貧標準，1億多的農村人口在這一時期實現脫貧。

從1980年代到1990年代，長三角和珠三角地區的鄉鎮企業發展迅速，深刻地影響了中國農村地區的發展，極大地推動了國家的脫貧進程。

有賴于農村改革與農業的科技進步，大量農村勞動力從土地中解放出來。許多農民開辦鄉鎮企業，成為企業家，使更多農民為大幅提高收入而進城務工。許多人認為，鄉鎮企業在農民向工人轉變的躍進過程中居功至偉。

1994年，為了消除貧困，中國出臺并實施《國家八七扶貧攻堅計劃》，在從1994年到2000年的7年里，努力通過開發式扶貧使8000萬人口擺脫絕對貧困。

在計劃實施的7年間，中央政府投入扶貧資金1240億元，農村貧困人口從8000萬下降到3200萬。

從2001年至2010年，為了改善貧困地區基本生產生活條件、鞏固貧困地區所取得的溫飽成果，中國的扶貧政策將目標從鄉級降低到村級，實施整村脫貧，而非個人脫貧。

2011年，中國頒布了《中國農村扶貧開發綱要（2011—2020年）》，出臺了新的扶貧目標與舉措。一批連片貧困地區被指定為扶貧開發的主要陣地，扶貧標準也提高了92%。根據新的標準，截至2012年年底，被確定為生活在貧困線以下的人口數量已上升至9899萬。

自從2012年中國共產黨第十八屆全國代表大會以來，中國在扶貧領域全面深化改革，革新觀念、措施和體制機制，建立了精準扶貧的基本策略，將國家扶貧成果優化到了前所未有的水平。

從2013年到2017年，根據現有扶貧標準，中國農村地區的貧困人口從9899萬降至3046萬，平均每年減貧1370萬人。在全面解決農村貧困問題上已邁出堅實的一步。

中國農村地區的生活水平和質量總體提高，甚至最貧困地區的生產生活條件也發生了巨大改變。

交通問題嚴重制約農村的經濟發展，但在過去幾年中，中國不斷投入巨資發展基礎設施建設。截至2017年年底，貧困地區98.45%的鄉鎮和96.87%的行政村都鋪設了道路。貧困地區行政村電網、電話、電視信號覆蓋率已提升至98%以上。

貧困地區的教育、醫療等社會事業也發展迅速。文盲與半文盲比率不斷下降，義務教育完成率增加，勞動力質量也大幅提升。

此外，由于新型農村合作醫療制度和其他制度的施行，農村地區的醫療條件和服務能力也不斷提升。

根據每年人均純收入2300元的扶貧標準，中國農村貧困人口從1978年的7.7億降至2017年的3000萬，超過7億人口脫貧。

根據世界銀行一天1.9美元的國際貧困線標準，全球貧困人口從1981年到2012年減少了11億，降幅55.1%。與之相比，同期中國貧困人口減少了7.9億，占全球減貧數量的71.82%。中國創造了全球減貧史的奇跡，為全球扶貧事業貢獻了中國智慧和中國方案。

中國合理的國家治理結構保證了國家戰略的深入推進、國家政策的有效實施以及經濟與社會的快速發展，這也是中國成功扶貧的一大核心要素。

中國建立了專門的扶貧機構，將扶貧開發融入國家發展策略，制定了扶貧策略與方案，開展針對特定人群組織的扶貧行動，促進政策由上至下的實施。

從中央政府到地方政府都強力有效地努力落實工作，不僅反映了中國體制的優勢，也體現了中國政府良好的治理能力與優良的運作效率。

中國將精準扶貧視為解決扶貧工作關鍵問題的一項重要措施。這項措施需要找出貧困根源，進而對癥下藥，藥到病除。

過去一般化的扶貧措施已經讓位于一種綜合的扶貧管理體制。這一體制由政府領導，聚焦基層農村群體和貧困人口，已經吸引了企業、非政府組織和志愿團體參與扶貧工作，而這有效促進了精準扶貧，有助于實現貧困地區的合理治理。

自1970年代后期實行改革開放以來，中國經濟長期保持高速增長的態勢。在讓一部分人先富起來的同時，中國還通過完善社會保障制度、為貧困人口提供脫貧渠道，很好地處理了公平與發展的問題。

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎選手）