China'seliminationofabsolutepovertyisabrightscenerylineoftheworld:Italianexpert_GuangmingOnlineChina'seliminationofabsolutepovertyisabrightscenerylineoftheworld:ItalianexpertAerialphototakenonJuly24,2021showstheviewofarelocationssiteforpovertyalleviationatHuawuVillageinXinrenMiaoTownship,QianxiCity,southwestChina'sGuizhouProvince.(Photo/Xinhua)Accordingtotheinternationalpovertystandard,thenumberofpeoplelivinginpovertyinChinadecreasedby868millionfrom1981to2015.Globally,thefiguredroppedbynearly1.17billioninthesameperiod,withChinaaccountingfor74percentoftheworld’stotalpopulationthatescapedpoverty.By2016,mainlandChinahadreducedthenumberofpeoplelivingbelowthepovertylineby99.1%.Bytheendof2020,absolutepovertywaseradicatedinChina.Thecountry’sachievementinpovertyeradicationisabrightscenerylineoftheworldforsocialandeconomicdevelopment.Foryears,thewesthasbeendividedover“socialismwithChinesecharacteristics”;butthereisarareconsensusinthewestoverChina’sachievementsinfightingpovertyinthenewera.InOctober2021,UNSecretary-GeneralAntónioGuterrespraisedChina’sachievementandcalledontheinternationalcommunitytoworktogethertoaddressthecommonchallengesoftheplanet,especiallytheCovid-19pandemic.GuterresthankedChinaforitsroleinimplementingtheSustainableDevelopmentGoals,andhighlightedthesignificanceofChina’sremarkablecontributiontofreeinghumanityfromallformsofpoverty.TheremarksofGuterresmadegreatsenseifonelooksattheweakeningrightsofwesternworkersinrecentdecades.Inthe1960sand1970s,tocombathighinflationandstagnantprofitrate,capitalistcountriesinthewestintroducedmeasuressuchasloweringwagesandcrackingdownonworkers’unions.TheagreementoncereachedbetweenworkersandemployersafterWWIIweretornupbythelatter,whichresultedintheever-wideninginequalityandpovertyindevelopedcountries.Sincethen,neo-liberalismhastakenhold,theimprovedrightsandworkingconditionsthatwesternworkershadgainedinthe30yearsafterWWIIquicklydeteriorated.Chinabeganitsreformandopeningupinthelate1970s.Inthecountryside,householdswereallowedtocontractlandforindividualizedfarmingactivities,whichresultedinever-increasinggrainoutputandfarmers’income.Chinaalsoexploredthesocialistmarketeconomy,encouragedthedevelopmentofprivateenterprises,andintroducedadvancedtechnologyviaforeigninvestment.China’stownshipenterpriseshavebeenparticularlyremarkable,astheyhaveabsorbedChina’ssurplusrurallaborandmadeimportantcontributionstotheefficientuseofresources.Whilethevastnumberofpeasantsmovedtocitiestoworkandsharethedividendofthereformandopeningupinitiative,thecollectiveownershipofrurallandhasbeenretained,freeingmigrantworkersoftheirconcerns.Thestrategyofpromotingrural,agriculturalandpeasantdevelopmentwasthekeytoChina’svictoryinpovertyeradication.Chinahasmadefulluseofthemarketeconomytoopenupthemorebackwardruralareasinthehinterlandtotheoutsideworld,withthe“visiblehand”overseeingthe“invisiblehand”playitsactiverole.IdonotagreewithsomewesternscholarswhodefinedChina’sapproachtoeconomicdevelopmentandpovertyas“neo-liberalismwithChinesecharacteristics”.Contrarily,thewordsoftheNobelPrize-winningAmericaneconomistJosephStiglitzcouldbetterillustratetheessenceofthepicture:“China’sparticularblendhasservedtheChinesewell,who,afterall,arethemainconcernoftheChinesegovernment”.Andthe“blend”herereferstosocialistmarketeconomy.Inotherwords,insteadofadoptingthe“shocktherapy”thatWashingtonhasbeenpromotinginmanycountriesaroundtheworld,Chinahasinitiatedreformsbasedonitsownconditions,developedasocialistmarketeconomy,andachievedremarkableresultsinmanyfields,whichimprovedthelivesofmorethanabillionpeople.Theseachievementsshouldnotbeignoredordenied.WesternscholarsshoulddelveintothedetailsofChina’spovertyeradicationeffortstounravelthe“mystery”ofChina,andtoclearthemanyoftheirmisperceptions.AsshownbytheUN’sMultidimensionalPovertyIndex(MPI),whichmeasures10indicatorsofhealth,education,infrastructureservices,etc.,povertyisamultifacetedsocialphenomenonthathastodowiththemanycivilandsocialrightsofindividuals.Topromotetheseindicators,theUNproposedthe2030AgendaforSustainableDevelopment.Althoughwearestillmorethansevenyearsawayfrom2030,giventhecurrentinternationaleconomicandpoliticalcontext,itremainsdifficulttoachievetheseSDGsworldwide.Notably,however,ChinahasalreadyachievedtheAgenda’spovertyreductiontarget10yearsaheadofschedule.China’spovertyeradicationpolicyensuresthatthepoorhaveasourceofincomeandarewellfedandclothed,coveredbybasicmedicalcareandfreecompulsoryeducation.Obviously,China’spovertyeradicationfocusesonmorethantheissueofincome,andensuresbroadopportunitiesforindividualdevelopment.ThisismanifestedbythefactthatpeoplelivinginabjectpovertyinChina’simpoverishedregionswere“taughthowtofish”ratherthanmerely“offeredfish”.InNovember2013,GeneralSecretaryXiJinpingvisitedtheShibadongVillageinHunanProvince,which,inmyopinion,markedtheofficiallaunchofthegrandprojectof“precisepovertyalleviation”.Thisprojectfeaturedasetofrigorous,reasonableandcompleteprocedures:identifyingpoorhousehold,specifyingthecadreincharge,andpreventingpeoplefromfallingbackinpoverty.Chinahasbuiltavisualizedinformationsystemandmanagementsystemtoeffectivelymonitorthedifferentstagesoftheproject.In2014,800,000Chinesecadresweredispatchedtothegrassroots,whoidentified128,000impoverishedvillagesand89.62millionpoorpeople.Sincethen,theyhavecontinuouslyupdatedtheinformationonthepoorpopulationaccordingtothechangingreality,usingadvanceddigitaltechnology.PovertyeradicationinChinaintheneweracoincideswiththeCPC’seffortsofmodernizingthecountry’sgovernancesystemandgovernancecapacity.China’spovertyeradicationprogramwasdevelopedbytheCPCandChinesegovernmentsatalllevelsthroughmassivemobilizationandwideconsultation,andasaresult,ithasachievedthedesiredgoals.Boththefightagainstpovertyandthemodernizationofthenationalgovernancesystemandcapacityareunderpinnedbyeffectiveorganizations.Butwithoutorganizerstherewouldn’tbeanyorganizations.Bysending255,000taskforcesand3millionwell-trainedcadrestopoorvillages,theCPChasfulfilleditssolemnpromisetothepeople.Bytheendof2021,theCPChadmorethan95.1millionmembersandabout4.9milliongrassrootspartyorganizations.AquestionI’daskhereis,isthereanyorganizationstrongerandmorecapablethantheCPC?Today,China’sgoalofbuildingamoderatelyprosperoussocietyinallrespectshasbeenachieved.Thisiscompletelydifferentfromtheconsumeristsocietiesgovernedbywesternelites.InChina,thepeople’smaterialandspiritualneedsarebettermet,andtheiraspirationsforbetterruleoflaw,moredemocracyandbetterenvironmentwillalsobepositivelyrespondedto.Atthe19thCPCNationalCongress,GeneralSecretaryXiJinpingstatedthatsocialismwithChinesecharacteristicshadenteredanewera,andthatthemaincontradictionofChinesesocietyinthenewerawasbetweenthepeople’sgrowingneedforabetterlifeandunbalancedandinsufficientdevelopment.Obviously,theCPCleadershipissoberlymindfuloftheunbalanced,inadequatesocialandeconomicdevelopmentofthecountry.TheCPCwillholdits20thNationalCongressinOctoberthisyear,whichwillbeaveryimportantcongressinChina’snewjourneytowardthesecondcentenarygoal,andwillchartanewcourseforsocialismwithChinesecharacteristics.Inthewest,however,theimpoverishmentofthemassesiswidening,andtheincreasingpopulationofchildrenandelderlylivinginpovertyisparticularlyworrying.CurrentlyinItaly,5millionpeopleareinpoverty,andintheUnitedStatesthenumberismorethan40millionandgrowing.Worsestill,theglobaleconomicandfinancialfluctuationscausedbytheongoingCovid-19pandemicandtheRussian-Ukrainianconflict,andtheimpactofwesternsanctionsontheglobaltradingsystemwillresultingreaterinequalityandunfairnessinthepartofworldlivingunderthehegemonycloudofthewest.ContribtuedbyProfessorAlessandraPolettinifromtheUniversityofRome,ItalyEditor:ZhangZhouDisclaimerTheviewsandopinionsexpressedinthisarticlearethoseoftheauthor's,GMW.cnmakesnorepresentationsastoaccuracy,suitability,orvalidityofanyinformationonthissiteandwillnotbeliableforanyerrors,omissions,ordelaysinthisinformation.