Premier Li stresses proper relocation arrangements in poverty relief

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has stressed proper arrangements in relocating people from poverty-stricken communities to more developed areas as a means of poverty relief.

The relocation must be targeted, safe and transparent, according to a written instruction from the premier to a national meeting on poverty reduction through relocation, which ended Sunday.

Calling alleviating poverty through relocation a"key drive" in the country's poverty reduction and the supply-side structural reform, Li said local authorities should ensure the quality of relocation projects and improve management over funding.

The premier also urged authorities to help those who have been relocated by boosting local industrial development and increasing their income, so as to make sure that every household will be kept out of poverty after relocation.

This year, China plans to reduce its poor population by over 10 million, including 3.4 million through relocation.

By the end of July, China had started work on over 12,000 relocation projects this year to lift people out of poverty, which will affect about 2.8 million people in poverty, official data showed.

Vice Premier Wang Yang, who attended the two-day meeting, said positive progress has been made in relocation, but local governments should continue to improve their work by dealing with problems during the relocation, providing more post-relocation assistance and preventing hidden risks.

China has vowed to lift all of its poor out of poverty by 2020, with relocation as one aspect of its strategy. By the end of 2016, there were some 43 million people in rural areas still living in poverty.