Xi urges solid efforts to win battle against poverty

Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang (6th R, front) poses for a group photo with poverty relief role models before a meeting honoring people who have made great contributions to poverty relief, in Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 9, 2017. (Xinhua/Ding Lin)

Vice Premier Wang Yang, who attended the meeting celebrating the poverty relief role models, stressed the need to pool wisdom and efforts to make solid progress in targeted poverty-relief work.

China is closing in on its ambitious goal of achieving a moderately prosperous society in all respects by 2020, with the baseline task of lifting all people out of poverty.

As of the end of 2016, there were still 43.35 million people in China living below the country's poverty line of 2,300 yuan (344 U.S. dollars) of annual income, accounting for about 3 percent of China's population.