Time in China is often measured by the arc of grand designs. And the last 13 years have told a story of statecraft success in the country’s vast rural areas.
A memorable day was Feb. 25, 2021 when Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that China had secured a “complete victory” in its fight against absolute poverty.
The “complete victory” capped eight years of arduous efforts to lift the final 98.99 million rural residents living under the then poverty line out of poverty. With this achievement, China met the poverty eradication target set out in the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 10 years ahead of schedule.
The Chinese leadership, however, has never seen the eradication of absolute poverty as the end of the road, but rather as a milestone in an ongoing journey.
A five-year transition period was established for poverty-alleviated counties to consolidate poverty alleviation achievements and prevent large-scale relapse into poverty, amid a nationwide push to advance rural revitalization and agricultural modernization.
As the country is wrapping up this five-year transition period and embracing the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), cementing rural foundation for Chinese modernization holds particular significance.
https://english.news.cn/20260301/31b0167f1bf64e37a1f639fa15449a14/c.html
