Chinese, African lawmakers exchange views at poverty reduction webinar

Lawmakers from China and four African countries exchanged views via video link on Wednesday to deepen understanding on how legislatures play a role in helping to lift people out of poverty and promote social development.

The webinar was organized by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislative body, and was held between the Chinese legislators and those from Liberia, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Regarding poverty relief and the pursuit of better lives as the same goal of many developing countries, Wang Dongming, vice-chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, called for lawmakers from China and the African nations to deepen consensus and cooperation on livelihood, agricultural affairs and poverty reduction.

He added legislatures from China and the African nations should keep in touch, increase exchanges in various aspects and foster friendly relations by innovative means amid the ongoing pandemic

Speaker of the Namibian National Assembly Peter Katjavivi also agreed to strengthen bilateral and multilateral cooperation, as poverty alleviation is a common interest of China and African countries and contributes to domestic economic growth in each nation.

More than 40 lawmakers attended the webinar, sharing ideas mainly on how legislatures can provide legal protection for poverty reduction and play a supervisory role to bring relief to the poor, and what lawmakers could do to help eliminate poverty.