Chinese Vice Premier urges solid efforts to reduce poverty

Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang, also head of the State Council Leading Group of Poverty Alleviation and Development, speaks at a meeting of the group in Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 11, 2016. (Xinhua/Gao Jie)

Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang on Tuesday urged the government to make solid efforts in poverty alleviation, pledging to strengthen supervision.

"China has made remarkable progress in reducing poverty but there are still problems in some government agencies and local authorities, such as poor implementation," said Wang, also head of the State Council Leading Group of Poverty Alleviation and Development, during a meeting of the group.

Wang said China will improve the accountability system, such as exposing negative cases, and make officials who are perfunctory in their work "pay the price."

The leading group will launch a comprehensive inspection in regions with poverty reduction missions, Wang said.

Having vowed to eliminate poverty by 2020, China is making all-out efforts, including job creation and relocation of poor people, to achieve the goal. There are still tens of millions of Chinese living under the national poverty line.