China Set to Hit Target of Eliminating Poverty

On top of this, China has modernized tremendously, so the World Bank is looking at very different kinds of programs. “One of the programs that we do together with the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development, is to use agricultural collectives as a means to reach out to those poor people that are not yet connected to the modern economy,” said Mr. Hofman. “We tie them up to the modern supply chain to help them get more money for their goods and upgrade their quality standard of agricultural products that they are bringing to the market.” The organization has also been looking at the remaining poor in China. “Some of them are living in very remote areas with very little basis for economic production. Therefore, helping those people move is another important element of more modern poverty reduction efforts.” Hofman showed that the World Bank is currently discussing whether these measures should be introduced into its current poverty alleviation programs.

However, Mr. Hofman stressed that there will still be poor people even when those remaining have been lifted out of poverty. The disabled, for example, will always need assistance. He sees the basic living allowance system in China as a social safety net and an essential tool keeping people out of poverty. “The redesign of the system is meant to be very important in the medium run,” he said.

ICT to Play Larger Role

Last May, the Global Poverty Reduction and Inclusive Growth portal was jointly launched by the China Internet Information Center and the International Poverty Reduction Center in China. Supported by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, the portal aims at sharing knowledge of poverty reduction and the most effective methods used in China and around the world.

Mr. Hofman was present at the launch of the portal, which he considers to be a major step forward in poverty alleviation. “Information and communication technology (ICT) can play a bigger role in poverty reduction,” he stated. “One aspect of it refers to access to finance. Finance and ICT are a tremendously strong combination that makes it easier for the poor in remote areas to get a credit.” Meantime, e-commerce is another element that the World Bank is looking at. Today, people in isolated villages are able to get market information and tie into modern supply chains through e-commerce. Mr. Hofman took the Alibaba villages as an example. Driven by a booming online retail market led by China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba, some small villages in eastern China have reinvented themselves as hotspots for e-business. “These famous villages are largely in some of the richer parts of the country. But we are now working with Alibaba to study how these villages actually emerged and if we can use that model for poor villages in the hinterland in the western part of the country,” Mr. Hofman said. He believes this is a great opportunity for e-commerce to become a vehicle for people to escape from poverty.

XU LIN is a reporter with china.com.cn