Global Forum Urges Anti-Poverty Action

Rebeca Grynspan, UN Under-Secretary-General and UNDP Associate Administrator, said: "Over 95 percent of future urban expansion will take place in developing countries, mostly in Asia and Africa. China's efforts in achieving social reforms will be watched closely around the world as other countries follow its leadership on urbanization and poverty reduction."

During his speech, Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang outlined implications of China's immense pace of urbanization, remarking: "Our urbanization rate reached 52.6 percent in 2012, a 1.3-percent increase from the previous year. As we deepen reform and strive to readjust the nation's economic structure, we must take advantage of this critical period to achieve aspirations of an all-around well-off Society and introduce new means of poverty alleviation."

Though the number of Chinese citizens living below the US$1.25-a-day poverty line set by the World Bank has already decreased from 446 million in 1999 to 160 million in 2009, Wang advises renewing efforts to find a more effective urbanization path. Strategies moving forward should emphasize urban-rural integration, continuing to strengthen China's core agricultural base and advancing urban development.

Methods on managing new forms of poverty such as multidimensional poverty and urban poverty were among the hot-button topics, with experts leading discussions on how to deliver aid to those who need it most. Accelerating efforts to achieve global anti-poverty targets, known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), eradicating aid programme conditionality obstacles, and building on sustainability commitments, was highlighted as high priority.