China's poverty eradication inspires world

I would like to express my gratitude to the organizers of the 2025 International Forum on Poverty Governance and Global Development for inviting me to the forum. It has given me the opportunity to visit the beautiful province of Yunnan that boasts stunning natural beauty and rich cultural diversity, with five UNESCO sites on the World Heritage List.

Whether it is the Cultural Landscape of Old Tea Forests of the Jingmai Mountain in Pu'er, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2023, or the Three Parallel Rivers National Park in the mountainous northwest of Yunnan (the 1.7 million hectare site features sections of the upper reaches of three great rivers of Asia — the Yangtze, Mekong and Salween rivers that run roughly parallel north to south), the province continues to fascinate the world as the epicenter of China's biodiversity.

Poverty is a major problem that human society has been, and is still, facing in many parts of the world. It is not by chance that the United Nations Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted in 2015, put "No Poverty" as the first goal-"To end poverty in all its forms everywhere by 2030". This is fundamental, if we want to "leave no one behind", which is the underlying goal of the UN Agenda 2030.

Since the launch of reform and opening-up in the late 1970s, China has lifted about 800 million people out of poverty, accounting for more than 70 percent of global poverty reduction. What is remarkable about China's economic miracle is that the government has made human development the focus of its policy. It has implemented strong and targeted economic and social policies to ensure that no one is left behind.

In response to the adoption of the UN 2030 Agenda, China launched an impressive campaign called "Targeted Poverty Alleviation" with the aim of completely eradicating extreme poverty in rural areas by 2020, 10 years ahead of schedule.

President Xi Jinping identified eradicating poverty as one of three "tough battles" in the 2017-20 period. And to win the battle against poverty, the country launched "the largest poverty alleviation campaign in history", achieving astounding results.

Yunnan was one of the major battlefields in the country's fight against poverty, as 94 percent of the province is mountainous with relatively limited arable land and prone to frequent natural disasters including earthquakes and landslides.

China implemented targeted measures, including boosting local industrial development, employment, relocation, ecological compensation, education and training, and social security to eradicate absolute poverty by the end of 2020.

In 2021, the country declared a "complete victory" in eradicating absolute poverty, meeting the poverty reduction target of the UN 2030 Agenda a decade ahead of schedule.

China's advances in this regard have been uniquely impressive — it is the only country in the world to have progressed from a "low human development" in 1990 to a "high human development" today. The 2024 UN human development report attributed this achievement to the country's people-centered development philosophy. In absolute terms, China's Human Development Index rose from 0.499 in 1990 to 0.788 in 2022.

China made a lot of these achievements by continuously increasing investments in education and healthcare. China has not only eliminated illiteracy but also is providing higher-quality education, and technical and vocational training, using new technologies in education to achieve inclusive and equitable development. Eradication of poverty, narrowing of the urban-rural income gap, and moving toward common prosperity are the major goals of China to achieve sustainable development.

What is equally impressive is that, for China, the eradication of absolute poverty is not the end of the story. It has vowed to continue promoting development and preventing people from slipping back into poverty by taking targeted measures and creating mechanisms for sustaining the poverty-alleviation achievements, reflecting its commitment to uplift the rural population.

China has made poverty-alleviation history, and is taking the next step to vitalize rural areas by promoting shared prosperity.

But while China has become a "moderately prosperous society in all respects", poverty remains acute in many regions of the world. There are many countries where poverty is enduring and where poverty deprives hundreds of millions of people of dignity and development. In such countries, the fight against poverty should be strengthened and accelerated.

China's story is proof that developing countries can eradicate poverty through perseverance and sustained efforts. If China can make it, other developing countries can make it too. This is what China's battle against poverty coveys to the world.

The Chinese experience in terms of socioeconomic development has not only benefited the Chinese people but also facilitated progress in many areas of the globalized world.

After decades of remarkable progress in urbanization propelled China to become the world's second-largest economy, the Chinese government is ramping up efforts to achieve more balanced, coordinated development to narrow the gap between urban and rural areas.

By putting forward the great vision of a community with a shared future for mankind, China has reminded us that inclusiveness should always be a strategic priority.

In his famous speech "Make Poverty History" in 2005, the great fighter against apartheid and former South African president, Nelson Mandela, said: "Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is the protection of a fundamental human right, the right to dignity and a decent life. While poverty persists, there is no true freedom."

The author is former director-general of UNESCO. This is an edited excerpt from her speech at the 2025 International Forum on Poverty Governance and Global Development on March 29 in Lushui, Yunnan province.

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