Chinese vice premier presses local governments on poverty relief

Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang, who is also head of the State Council Leading Group of Poverty Alleviation and Development, attends a plenary session of the leading group in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 10, 2016. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing)

Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang on Thursday urged local governments to solve major problems unveiled in the latest round of poverty-relief inspections.

Wang, also head of the State Council Leading Group of Poverty Alleviation and Development, was briefed on the nationwide inspection, which started last month to find both good practices and problems in poverty relief.

Replicable measures adopted by local governments should be summarized and rolled out around the country, he said.

Meanwhile, the country must strive to find a solution to major problems found during the inspection, including formalism, inaccuracy and the inability of some poor people to support themselves, Wang said.

The government should pressure local governments, which should take responsibility to ensure earnest implementation of the country's poverty-relief measures, he said.

As of the end of 2015, China still had 55.75 million people living in poverty. It plans to lift all of its poor out of poverty by 2020.