Wen: 100 Mln Chinese Live in Poverty

Premier Wen Jiabao on Wednesday reiterated that China, though boasting a fairly large economy, is still a developing nation and has more than 100 million people living below the poverty line.

Wen made the remarks while addressing the High-level Roundtable of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20 summit), which opened Wednesday in Brazil's coastal city of Rio de Janeiro.

He said as a developing country, China may boast a fairly large economy, but its per capita income ranks around 90th in the world. Calculated according to a new standard, China still has more than 100 million people living below the poverty line.

He said China faces an uphill journey in promoting sustainable development. "Moreover, pressure from resources and the environment continues to mount, and problems of unbalanced, uncoordinated and unsustainable development remain challenging."

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao delivers a speech at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20 summit) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 20, 2012. [Xinhua]