头条英文播报|Nation resolute in meeting poverty goal

4月27日

来源：中国日报

Xi stresses importance of taking targeted action to improve people’s livelihoods

The COVID-19 pandemic will not compromise China’s goal to lift all its rural population out of poverty by the end of this year, officials and experts said, with the country scaling up its response measures in job creation and helping with sales of agricultural products.

The country’s top leadership, led by President Xi Jinping, has called for resolute policy action to minimize the shock from the pandemic and win the battle against absolute poverty as this year is the final one for China to finish building a moderately prosperous society in all respects.

China, having lifted over 93 million people out of absolute poverty over the past seven years, still has 5.51 million rural residents living below the official poverty line.

Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made poverty reduction a priority in his agenda as the outbreak posed immediate challenges to the country’s targets.

He delivered an important speech at a nationwide teleconference on March 6 that called for heightened poverty reduction measures amid challenges from the outbreak.

He visited impoverished mountain areas, communities, households and a tea plantation during a four-day inspection trip to Shaanxi province last week. He underlined the importance of adopting targeted actions to improve the living standards of poor people and establishing mechanisms that prevent poverty from returning.

"I have confidence in attaining the poverty reduction targets this year. What I am more concerned about is whether we can stabilize our achievements and whether we can establish a long-term mechanism," he told officials in Shaanxi.

Qi Gubo, a professor of rural development studies at China Agricultural University, said: "President Xi has extended a message of confidence that China will deliver its target of poverty elimination this year with firm actions."

In doing so, China will at least attain the two goals set in the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which are ending poverty in all its forms everywhere and promoting sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all, she said.

She added that China has ramped up its poverty reduction campaign this year despite the fact that its economy has suffered its first contraction in decades.

The central financial authorities allocated special poverty alleviation funds totaling 139.6 billion yuan ($19.7 billion) for 2020 by the end of March to authorities at lower levels, which was one month earlier than in previous years.

The State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development said in a notice released earlier this month that it has launched a special program that aims to facilitate sales of agricultural products totaling 100 billion yuan to aid the poverty reduction campaign this year.

Qi said she also expects a bigger role from the country’s special work teams sent to poor villages this year, which usually is comprised of officials from different government departments.

"Their presence at villages helped authorities learn about the real situation and come up with more targeted measures," she said.

The last line of defense, she said, is to include the poor people, especially those suffering from severe impacts from the pandemic, in the country’s social security network.

"The country still has many policy tools at its disposal and that is why it is capable of a resounding success to conclude its poverty campaign this year," she said.

Even so, some researchers have highlighted the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic on the employment of migrant workers, who account for a majority of the income of many poor rural families.

Gan Li, director of the Survey and Research Center for China Household Finance at Southwest University of Finance and Economics, said research by his team on a poor village in Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture in Sichuan province showed about 70 percent of people who were migrant workers in other areas last year remained at home despite the fact that traffic restrictions had been lifted.

Some factories tasked with poverty alleviation are also faced with a drop in orders and delayed reopening, which has affected the income of households.

To counter the impact from the pandemic, Xi laid out response measures including prioritizing job creation for migrant workers from poor families and employing multiple channels, including e-commerce, to facilitate sales of agricultural products, in his speech at the meeting on March 6.

Chen Hongbo, head of the department of policies, laws and regulations at the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development, told a news briefing on Friday that the authorities have adopted various relief measures, such as helping migrant workers return to their jobs, including in areas close to their homes, and bolstering credit support to poor households, to counter the impact of the pandemic.

Xi has also, on many occasions, underlined the importance of maintaining the stability of policies even after the goals have been met this year.

The authorities should consider a transition period during which aid policies from the authorities will continue and a monitoring mechanism will be established for those having unstable incomes and living on the edge of the poverty line, Xi said at the meeting on March 6.

The mechanism will enable the authorities to adopt precautionary aid measures to prevent a rebound of poverty, he added.

Huang Hanquan, director of the Research Institute of Industrial Economy and Technical Economy at the National Development and Reform Commission, said ensuring the stability of aid policies would be a time-consuming process to transform poor areas and the lives of poor people.

"It would be unrealistic to accomplish all poverty reduction goals at one stroke, and the reaching of the goals does not mean the end of the endeavor," Huang said.

Xi has also stressed the need to synergize poverty reduction with the rural vitalization strategy, which Huang said will be another priority of China’s rural policy.

The government could shift from its targeted measures focusing on a special group of people to a more inclusive initiative seeking to benefit the rural population, he said.

The development of rural industries, modernizing the agricultural sector, bolstering rural infrastructure and improving public services, such as healthcare, education and care for the elderly, will be another focus of policymakers, he said.

"The key, however, is to improve the quality of human capital in rural areas, and only by doing so can we boost the development capacities of rural residents," he said.

Chen Zhigang, a senior research fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute, said Xi has overseen a poverty reduction campaign that is guided by a very mature concept and vision, and the immediate challenges from the pandemic will not derail its goals.

As China moves forward in solving the problem of unbalanced growth and revitalizing its rural areas, it has a lot to share with the international community on its poverty reduction achievements, he said.

"The government’s persistent focus on eliminating poverty and rural development, its targeted strategies and its mobilizing of all sectors to help with work in this regard all contributed to the country’s resounding success," he said.

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【阅读背景】 

战“疫”战“贫”加试题如何作答？习近平总书记这样指导

这是新冠肺炎疫情发生以来，习近平总书记第一次就脱贫攻坚这个主题赴地方考察调研。

4月20日，习近平总书记抵达陕西，当天下午和第二天上午分别来到位于秦巴山区的柞水县和平利县，关注的都是脱贫攻坚这个主题：他进村看木耳种植和茶园生产，在直播平台话脱贫，访易地搬迁群众，看望小学师生。

今年是脱贫攻坚决战决胜之年。

“今年年初，我就考虑结合到外地考察，把有关地方特别是还没有摘帽的贫困县所有负责同志都请到一起开个会，研究决战脱贫攻坚工作部署。”在今年3月6日召开的决战决胜脱贫攻坚座谈会上，习近平总书记这样说。

新冠肺炎疫情发生以来，习近平总书记多次主持召开重要会议，对统筹疫情防控和经济社会发展提出明确要求。

3月6日召开的这次座谈会，是党的十八大以来脱贫攻坚方面最大规模的会议。总书记在会上提出了“三个坚决”的要求——

坚决克服新冠肺炎疫情影响；

坚决夺取脱贫攻坚战全面胜利；

坚决完成这项对中华民族、对人类都具有重大意义的伟业。

疫情甫有好转，调研立即启程。

在战“疫”的同时打好脱贫攻坚战，总书记此行释放了诸多重要信号。

信号一：坚决啃下最后的“硬骨头”

总书记此次考察的秦巴山区，是14个集中连片特困地区之一。集中连片特困地区贫困程度深、脱贫和巩固脱贫成果难度大，都是贫中之贫、困中之困，是最难啃下的“硬骨头”。而且，疫情又增加了工作难度，造成一些地方扶贫产品销售困难，外出务工受阻，扶贫项目停工。

距离脱贫攻坚战收官还有8个多月，全面查缺补漏，补齐短板弱项，把疫情影响降到最低，时间很紧迫。中央要求继续聚焦“三区三州”等深度贫困地区，瞄准突出问题和薄弱环节狠抓政策落实，通过有关部门较真碰硬“督”、各省区市凝心聚力“战”，以更大决心、更强力度，确保取得脱贫攻坚最后的胜利。

信号二：脱贫抓产业，电商添动力

名为“秦岭天下”的淘宝店火了。店家在直播中播放的习近平总书记为柞水木耳点赞的视频，受到了广大网民的热烈点赞。

“小木耳，大产业。”习近平总书记开出了一张克服疫情影响、加大产业扶贫力度的“良方”。

疫情造成不少贫困地区农产品售卖难，阿里巴巴等电商发起爱心助农计划，大力推动产销对接。柞水县正是阿里巴巴开展直播带货及村播培训的重点县之一。通过发展农产品电商，许许多多贫困户实现了“线上＋线下”脱贫致富。

推动电商扶贫，正在缩小数字鸿沟，帮助贫困群众走上新生活、新奋斗的新起点。

信号三：确保“两不愁三保障”成色不减

21日上午，在平利县老县镇，习近平总书记在锦屏社区、镇卫生院、中心小学考察了当地脱贫攻坚等情况。

看社区，关注住房安全是否有保障；看卫生院，关注基本医疗是否有保障；看小学，关注义务教育是否有保障……这三个点的选择也是大有深意。

“两不愁三保障”是检验脱贫的硬指标，总书记一直记挂在心上。

现在农村贫困人口不愁吃、不愁穿这“两不愁”质量水平明显提升，义务教育、基本医疗、住房安全这“三保障”问题基本解决了，但稳定住还不是一件容易事。有的孩子反复失学辍学，不少乡村医疗服务水平低，一些农村危房改造质量不高，有的地方安全饮水不稳定，都说明脱贫攻坚战不是轻轻松松一冲锋就能打赢的，决不能松劲懈怠。

巩固“两不愁三保障”成果，防止反弹。中央已经作出部署，加快扶贫项目开工复工，上半年要完成易地搬迁配套设施建设、住房和饮水安全扫尾工程任务。做好对因疫致贫返贫人口的帮扶。从下半年开始，国家将组织开展脱贫攻坚普查，对各地脱贫攻坚成效进行全面检验。

信号四：易地搬迁脱贫要移得出，更要稳得住

锦屏社区安置了全镇11个村的高山危住户、地灾户和贫困户1346户4173人。习近平总书记在搬迁户汪显平家进行了一番调研。总书记指出：“移得出、稳得住、住得下去，才能安居乐业。要住得下去就要靠稳定就业，务工是主要出路。要实实在在做好就业工作，不能搞形式主义。”

在“一方水土养活不了一方人”时，告别“穷窝窝”便是迎来新生活的开始。近年来，全国易地扶贫搬迁960多万贫困人口，基本解决了搬得出的问题。实现在新家园就近就地就业，是稳住脱贫成果、稳住人心的关键。

围绕稳得住、有就业、逐步能致富，必须加大易地扶贫搬迁后续扶持力度。坚持不懈加强产业、就业等帮扶，拓宽增收渠道，完善基本公共服务，解除贫困群众后顾之忧。与看得见的新居这个“硬件”相比，看不见的就业帮扶等“软件”同样要抓好抓牢。这需要各级干部切实发扬求真务实的优良作风，真正把这项民生工程办得暖人心，在脱贫攻坚这项伟业中交出优秀的答卷。

（来源：新华社）