China claimed it has eliminated extreme poverty in its nation Monday, Nov. 23. If true, the accomplishment is a capstone for the country’s Communist Party’s policy aimed at reducing inequalities in China, according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
“We plucked out the people’s roots of poverty all at once,” Communist Party secretary Cai Hongmin said according to the Los Angeles Times.
Per the announcement, nine counties in the Guizhou province have been certified as poverty-free. It is a determination made by Chinese officials on the basis of a variety of factors including income, education, health, housing, etc.
The Communist Party set its antipoverty target in 2011, with the goal of achieving it before it celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2021. The party has spent billions of dollars working to accomplish the goal, $20.6 billion in 2020 alone, the LA Times reported.
Chinese President Xi Jinping told a group of leaders in the Asia-Pacific the goal was within reach before the official announcement was made. He’s been diligently traveling the country and promoting the policy.
The wealth gap in China was exacerbated between cities and rural areas as a result of “market-oriented economic policies,” WSJ reported. The numbers reportedly show a decrease of 98.99 million people in poverty in 2012 to zero.
“We are fulfilling many dreams,” Cai said. “The China dream, the poverty alleviation dream, the dream of happiness for hotel guests, the villagers’ dream of multichannel incomes.”
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However, not all poor Chinese people agree. Some were frustrated about forced relocations for new ‘poverty-ending’ projects. Liu Zhu’an, 39, worked in construction at one of the hotels being built, which Cai cited as an example of success. He said he sees no change in his life.
“What could we do even if we didn’t want to move? Do we have any choice?” Zhu’an said. “My life is the same. I was a day laborer before, and I’m a day laborer now.”
“Of course, the house is good. But if we can’t find work, it’ll be difficult here,” one relocated resident who gave only his surname, Yuan, told the LA Times.
The People’s Daily said if the government were to actually accomplish its goal it would be “a Chinese miracle in human history.”
Chinese officials also said the nation has been the source of 70 percent of the global reduction in poverty, citing 700 million people being lifted out of the societal ill.
Critics, however, believe the marker the Chinese have set for its poverty standards isn’t high enough. The uniform standard of $2,000 a year is not being applied in China according to a report from the World Bank.
“Under these rates, poverty in China is still sizable and merits renewed efforts as well as further refinement of the country’s poverty policies, strategies and programs,” the report said.
