The forthcoming World Bank Poverty Assessment, outlined by the World Bank in Beijing on Friday, says more than 60 million Chinese were lifted out of poverty in three years from 2001 to 2004.

The report, which is still incomplete, gave special mention to China's poverty reduction achievement and the country's expanding income gap problem.

"China's development experience and contribution to global poverty reduction have been unprecedented," World Bank vice president for East Asia and the Pacific Region, James Adams said in Beijing, "and the Bank is keen to learn how this experience can be shared with other countries".

According to bank's calculations, China's poverty rate, based on the one dollar per day consumption line, declined from 16 percent of the population in 2001 to 10 percent in 2004, which means more than 60 million people out of poverty.

"China's record in poverty reduction is extraordinary," David Dollar, World Bank country director for China, said.

Between 1990 and 2002, the most recent year for which global poverty numbers are available, the number of poverty-stricken Chinese fell by 195 million, accounting for more than 90 percent of the 207 million lifted out of poverty globally.

Dollar also mentioned the expanding income gap problem found in the study for World Bank Poverty Assessment.

"China's impressive growth has been an important driver of poverty reduction, but not everybody has equally benefited from this growth," said Dollar.

The report said lower incomes had risen less than higher incomes in China; as a result, income inequality went up.

The preliminary findings of the Poverty Assessment suggest that from 2001 to 2003 average incomes among the 10 percent lowest income earners in China fell by 2.4 percent.

World Bank findings also suggest that many Chinese in poverty are temporarily poor as a result of income disruption -- for instance due to sickness or crop failure.

"This means that growth and developmental policies still remain important for poverty alleviation, but in addition the policies emphasized by the current government, which target individual vulnerability, such as health insurance and minimum living allowance, gain in importance," Dollar said.

The World Bank supported several of these initiatives, including a rural health project, and research on improving minimum living allowances, pensions, unemployment insurance and agricultural insurance.

(Xinhua News Agency December 4, 2006)