China County Times:

Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee has prioritized poverty elimination in the governance of China and has made a historic achievement in poverty alleviation. What are the theoretical contributions of the poverty alleviation endeavor? What will be done to consolidate and build on the achievements in poverty elimination? Thank you.

Hong Tianyun:

I am glad to answer your question. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has led the whole Party and Chinese people of all ethnic groups, bearing in mind China's reality and understanding the status of poverty alleviation, in issuing a series of bold policies and measures and establishing a whole set of effective policies, work, and institutions. These efforts created a successful path of poverty eradication with Chinese characteristics and formed an anti-poverty theory with Chinese characteristics.

The kernel of the anti-poverty theory with Chinese characteristics is to uphold the seven principles. The first principle is to uphold the Party's leadership to provide solid political and organizational support for poverty alleviation. The second principle is to uphold the people-centered philosophy and unswervingly pursue common prosperity for all. The third principle is to take advantage of one of the strengths of its socialist system, that is, the ability to pool resources on major endeavors, mobilizing all society to unite with a common purpose and act in unison to fight poverty. The fourth principle is to adopt targeted measures and stay committed to eradicating poverty through development. The fifth principle is to stimulate the enthusiasm, initiative, and creativity of the people in poverty and inspire them with the motivation to fight poverty. The sixth principle is to carry forward the great tradition of working together and offering mutual support, fostering a strong atmosphere where the whole society helps the poor and the needy. The last one is to adopt a down-to-earth and pragmatic style of work and ensure that poverty alleviation reaches those who truly need it and delivers genuine outcomes and that poverty must be fully eliminated. These important experiences and understandings represent the theoretical crystallization of poverty alleviation in China and the latest achievement in adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and must be adhered to and steadily developed on a long-term basis.

After the victory in the battle against extreme poverty, it is a major concern of the Party Central Committee to consolidate and build on achievements in poverty elimination and prevent people from returning to impoverishment in large numbers. Since last year, after joint efforts of all parties, we have effectively aligned efforts to consolidate and expand the achievements in poverty alleviation with efforts to promote rural revitalization and ensure that people do not sink back into poverty in large numbers. Next, we will take the following five major steps.

First, we will implement better monitoring and assistance mechanisms to prevent people from slipping back into poverty. We will conduct screenings to identify households at risk of returning to or falling into poverty as monitoring targets, to ensure that all those in need are included and assisted and that the assistance is fully provided to eliminate risks.

Second, we will intensify policies to stabilize and expand employment. We will ensure that over 30 million people who have emerged from poverty have stable employment this year.

Third, we will promote the development of industries. More than 55% of the central budget's subsidy funds for promoting rural revitalization will be spent on the development of industries, focusing on supporting the industries that are integrated with farmers' interests, leading and benefiting farmers. At the same time, multiple measures will be taken to increase household operative income for the people.

Fourth, we will promote the implementation of projects and the use of funds. We will give full play to the role of the project pool in consolidating and expanding the achievements in poverty elimination and rural revitalization. We will accelerate the use of funds for dovetailing new measures with rural revitalization, promoting the projects to be implemented, and delivering results as soon as possible.

Fifth, we will strengthen social assistance and resident assistance. We will further promote collaboration between eastern China and western China, targeted assistance from the central Party and government departments, and the "10,000 private enterprises revitalizing 10,000 villages" initiative. Furthermore, we will supervise and guide resident first secretaries and working teams to make concrete and meticulous efforts in their assistance.

Thank you.