'Arduous tasks' lie ahead in poverty fight

In the past years, more capable and suitable officials have been selected to guide poverty relief work at different levels. For example, officials with business savvy were sent to poverty-stricken villages, while officials with specialized industrial knowledge were sent to villages with an industrial base.

China has also adopted various means to reduce poverty, including e-commerce, financing, tourism, relocation and improvement of infrastructure.

Jan Willem Blankert, author of China Rising: Will the West Be Able to Cope?, spoke highly of China's contribution to the world's poverty reduction.

"China has with its long growth spurt already contributed a lot. We always say that China's strong growth has 'lifted 400 million (that's the figure of a few years ago) out of poverty'," he told China Daily.