The concept of Targeted Poverty Alleviation ( Chinese : 精准扶贫 ) was first raised by Xi Jinping , General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), to combat poverty in China .
66-587: Targeted poverty alleviation plays into China's poverty alleviation strategy, and is to contribute to the Party's century goal of “comprehensively building a “ moderately prosperous society ” that is the first objective of Xi Jinping’s agenda of the Four Comprehensives . In his speeches, Xi Jinping emphasizes that without solving the poverty problem in rural areas, China cannot become a moderately prosperous society. The Targeted Poverty Alleviation Strategy
132-591: A moderately prosperous society or “ Xiaokang “ Xi said "no one should be left behind on the road towards Xiaokang.” China's official media reports that state Xi has toured dozens of impoverished villages since he took office as CCP general secretary in 2012, “sharing his rich experience in poverty-eradication work and putting himself on the front lines of the war on poverty.” In November 2013, he paid an inspection visit to Xiangxi , Hunan province in central China. During his tour to Shibadong village in Xiangxi, Xi asked
198-617: A life officer (生活委员 shenghuo weiyuan ), a public security officer (治安委员 zhian weiyuan ) and a propaganda officer (宣传委员 xuanzhuan weiyuan ). The Committee uses its powers particularly in two ways: (1) Through the newly established Village Labor Service Posts (村务和劳务服务岗 cunwu he laowu fuwugang ), the committee members can force villagers into employment. (2) Through a reward and punishment mechanism (完善奖惩机制 wanshan jiangcheng jizhi ), villagers are classified according to their job performance, political attitude, participation in village affairs and other factors in two lists. Villagers on
264-399: A more equal distribution of wealth. In the usages ( Tifa ) of current General Secretary Xi Jinping , the term " Chinese Dream " has gained somewhat greater prominence. In 2015, Xi unveiled a set of political slogans called the Four Comprehensives , which include "Comprehensively build a moderately prosperous society." It has been loosely translated as a "basically well-off" society in which
330-697: A semi-monthly magazine that is affiliated to the Qiushi Magazine, the party-run magazine in Beijing. Started in 2004, it mainly focuses on the political and economic development in China. Chinese state media has used the term " Xiaokang villages" to describe structures built by the People's Liberation Army near the Line of Actual Control in its ongoing border dispute with India . State Council of
396-467: A service network of volunteers is built in rural Western China. Furthermore, the Chinese government promotes an intensive system to encourage social participation in poverty allocation, via commendations, awards, and better career opportunities. Through the establishment of common projects or brands, sales are promoted or donations are given to projects to help people that are identified as poor. Also, for
462-622: A speech in March 2020 on the ‘Symposium on the decisive battle and decisive victory in the fight to get rid of poverty’, Xi Jinping stated that the CCP's goal to lift all of the PRC's population out of poverty until 2020 was still within reach – even with increased obstacles due to the COVID-19 pandemic . At the same time, Xi also emphasized that the achievement of this goal in 2020 would not mean an end to
528-543: A state councillor) all assist the premier. Each vice premier oversees certain areas of administration in support of the premier. In practice, the vice premiers and State Councillors assume responsibility for one or more sectors or issues, and remain in contact with the various bodies responsible for policy related to that area. This allows the Standing Committee to oversee a wide range of government functions. Each State Councillor performs duties as designated by
594-563: A statement was issued after the Central Economic Work Conference which also targeted poverty alleviation as one of three “tough battles” to win on the following three years, along with major risk control and pollution prevention. Significant measures were applied to reach the goal. Banks were encouraged to give microloans to farmers. Rural cooperatives were set up in many places allowing farmers to put together their resources to raise production. In August 2018 ,
660-497: A village for the title Taobao Village. Taobao Villages were established in cooperation with villagers who had returned from bigger cities with entrepreneurial skills and the support of local governments providing infrastructure, e-commerce training, finance and subsidies for specialized e-commerce service providers and companies. Moderately prosperous society Moderately prosperous society or Xiaokang society ( Chinese : 小康社会 ; pinyin : Xiǎokāng Shèhuì ),
726-543: Is a Chinese term, originally of Confucianism , used to describe a society composed of a functional middle-class . In December 1979, Deng Xiaoping , then paramount leader of China, first proposed the idea of "Xiaokang" based on the " Four Modernizations ". The term is best known in recent years through its use by Hu Jintao , General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party between 2002 and 2012, when referring to economic policies intended to realize
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#1732772040755792-602: Is a significant factor to reduce poverty in the PRC. Through the aid and collaboration of private companies, the market economy can be stimulated and new capital and technology can be brought into the countryside. Private enterprises are considered to bring job opportunities, career training, investments and donations to rural China. According to the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce , 109,500 private companies had contributed ¥106.8 billion for poverty alleviation as of June 2020. Individuals can also join
858-497: Is accompanied by a book collecting General Secretary Xi Jinping's quotes on poverty alleviation published by the CCP. The campaign-based approach is a common mechanism in Chinese politics in order to achieve highly prioritized political objectives within limited time. For the respective campaign, a significant amount of financial resources has been pooled: For 2019, the Chinese government has allocated 91 billion RMB (approximately US$ 13 billion) to poverty alleviation funds. Additionally,
924-408: Is assigned a cadre who serves as a personal advisor in the household's poverty alleviation. Once considered poor, households have a “targeted support contact card” (精准帮扶联系卡 jīng zhǔn bāng fú lián xì kǎ ) hung on their doors, which records the name of their cadre and the amount of subsidies the household is receiving. A profound system of monitoring and evaluation contributes to the effectiveness of
990-476: Is not the sole focus of society. Explicitly incorporated into the concept of a Xiaokang society is the idea that economic growth needs to be balanced with sometimes conflicting goals of social equality and environmental protection. Deng Xiaoping described a xiaokang society as a goal of the Four Modernizations . In a 1979 discussion with Japanese Prime Minister Masayoshi Ōhira , Deng used
1056-537: Is used to include various governmental sectors. Cross-system leading groups exist which consist of the leaders of all relevant departments such as the ones in charge of party affairs, finance, education, transportation, the armed police as well as the discipline inspection commission. The nationwide classification of “poor” households is achieved through a national registration system which enables local officials to collect data from each individual person, household and village. Each household that has been designated as poor,
1122-421: The "three representatives" (三个代表) ; 3) Hu Jintao ‘s concept of scientific development, including economic production, cultural development and political consensus; 4) The spirit of the series of keynote speeches by General Secretary Xi Jinping around the Four Comprehensives : The Decisions develop several goals: They aim to solve “ liang buchou, san bao xian” - the “two no worries” (i.e.
1188-650: The CCP Central Committee issued “Guiding Opinions on the Three Year Action Plan to Win the Battle against Poverty”. The opinions emphasize three major objectives for the last three years of the battle: 1) consolidate the achievements of poverty alleviation; 2) ensure that there are no more poverty-stricken counties and raise the per capita income of the rural population; 3) establish and enhance basic public services in rural areas. In
1254-636: The China Development Bank has pledged 400 billion RMB (approximately US$ 57 billion) for the combat of poverty. Besides through the remarkable financial commitment, the PRC also mobilizes large parts of the political system as well as of the private sector to achieve its objective of poverty alleviation. In January 2014 , the Central People's Government of the PRC published the "Opinions on Innovative Mechanisms to Promote Rural Poverty Alleviation and Development". In order to find
1320-611: The Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The State Council is legally required to implement the policies of the CCP. Aside from a few, members of the State Council are also members of the CCP's Central Committee . The State Council is described by the Chinese constitution as the executive organ of the National People's Congress (NPC), as well as the "highest state administrative organ". Constitutionally,
1386-697: The Ministry for National Defense but does not control the People's Liberation Army, which is instead controlled by the Central Military Commission (CMC). The State Council previously had joint command over the People's Armed Police (PAP) together with the CMC, principally through the Ministry of Public Security , though 2018 reforms placed the PAP solely under CMC command. The plenary session of
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#17327720407551452-616: The Politburo has ultimate authority. In 2024, during the second session of the 14th National People's Congress , the Organic Law of the State Council was amended to mandate the CCP Central Committee 's leadership over the State Council. The amended law also stipulates the State Council must follow the CCP's ideology and policies. The State Council is composed of the premier , several vice premiers , several state councillors , ministers of ministries, directors of committees,
1518-464: The State Council of the People's Republic of China issued the "Thirteenth Five-Year Plan for Poverty Alleviation", proposing to adhere to the combination of targeted assistance and overall regional development, and to promote the implementation of a number of poverty alleviation projects. In October 2017 , Xi urged “all-out” efforts to fight the “tough battle” against poverty. Two months later
1584-409: The 1990s under Jiang Zemin , in which many in China felt was focusing too much on the newly rich and not enough on mainland China's rural poor. At the 16th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in 2002, Jiang, set a goal of achieving comprehensive xiaokang by 2020. Hu Jintao reiterated this goal at the 17th Party Congress and the 18th Party Congress . Xiaokang is also a name for
1650-476: The CCP and the State Council on Winning the Battle of Poverty Eradication” with the aim to lift 70 million of the rural population above the poverty line until 2020. Consequently, the PRC endeavors to bring one million people per month and 30,000 people per day out of impoverishment. The Targeted Poverty Alleviation Strategy functions as a high-profile political campaign with leading groups on poverty alleviation established at all administrative levels. The campaign
1716-485: The CCP’s commitment for 2020. But he also stated that with increased efforts by all government levels and the deployment of security and rescue funds, getting rid of poverty within 2020 was still the unchanged goal for the CCP. Around 30 million people will still be waiting to be lifted out of poverty by 2020. Those left behind will face the most difficulty getting over the poverty line. Many live in very remote areas, which lack
1782-597: The Central Conference on Poverty Alleviation and Development adopted the “Decisions of the Central Committee of the CCP and the State Council on Winning the Battle of Poverty Eradication”, emphasizing the urgency of poverty alleviation in China. The guiding principles of the Decisions are the following: 1) The Four Modernizations of former core leader Deng Xiaoping ; 2) The thinking of
1848-535: The People%27s Republic of China The State Council of the People's Republic of China , also known as the Central People's Government , is the chief administrative authority and the national cabinet of China . It is constitutionally the highest administrative organ of the country and the executive organ of the National People's Congress , the highest organ of state power . It is composed of
1914-611: The Premier. The secretary-general heads the General Office which handles the day-to-day work of the State Council. The State Council includes 26 constituent departments, and oversees the province-level governments throughout China. Each ministry supervises one sector. Commissions outrank ministries and set policies for and coordinate the related activities of different administrative organs. Offices deal with matters of ongoing concern. The establishment, dissolution, or merger of
1980-465: The State Council and heads the General Office of the State Council. The executive meeting of the State Council, consisting of the premier, vice premiers, state councillors and the secretary-general, meets two to three times a month, while the plenary session, consisting of all members of the State Council, meets every six months. The State Council directly oversees provincial-level People's Governments, and in practice maintains membership with top levels of
2046-434: The State Council meets every six months, composed of all members of the State Council. Between meetings it is guided by an Executive Meeting of the State Council [ zh ] which is held two to three times a month, and can be called at the discretion of the premier. The Executive Meeting is composed of the premier, vice premiers, state councilors, and the secretary-general. (first-ranked) The Plenary Meeting of
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2112-536: The auditor general, and the secretary-general . The premier leads the State Council and is appointed by the NPC upon the nomination by the president , though in practice the premier is chosen within the CCP leadership, including the Politburo Standing Committee . The vice premiers (one executive and generally three others), state councillors, and a secretary-general (who normally also serves as
2178-463: The centralized poverty alleviation strategy effectively. Vertical political integration, ( tiao tiao (条条)) is used in order to link governmental instances vertically to higher instances at the center. In that manner, the higher scales pass down the central policy. The lower scales, such as localities, enjoy self-governing rights and are free to develop their own strategies to achieve poverty alleviation. Horizontal political integration ( kuai kuai (块块))
2244-480: The concept to distinguish China's path of development from other approaches, stating, "The Four Modernizations we hope to realize are a Chinese Four Modernizations. Our conceptualization of the Four Modernizations is not like your conception of modernization, but it is a xiaokang family." The revival of the concept of a Xiaokang Society was in part a criticism of social trends in mainland China in
2310-422: The constituent departments are proposed by the premier and decided by the NPC or its Standing Committee. Bureaus and administrations rank below ministries. In addition to the ministries, there are 38 centrally administered government organizations that report directly to the state council. The heads of these organizations attend full meetings of the state committee on an irregular basis. The State Council controls
2376-517: The context of the “10,000 Enterprises Help 10,000 Villages” project, industrial enterprises should grant poor villages and households access to the respective development benefits that enterprises generate in poverty-stricken areas through the exploitation of natural resources. Enterprises should expand their rural business, give full play to the advantages of Internet Plus , strengthen cooperation with postal services, supply and marketing cooperation and other systems, help villages and households connect to
2442-593: The countryside, as well as threats to agriculture. There were setbacks in the implementation of “building a new socialist countryside” due to the governance crisis on the countryside. Policies from the top were not followed at the lowest level of government. This was particularly an issue in rural areas in the Southwest, more specifically in ethnic-minority villages in Southwest China. In these areas, clannism hindered higher-level authorities from fully governing
2508-418: The development of skills. Thirdly, enterprises are encouraged to make direct donations, set up poverty alleviation public welfare funds, grant poverty alleviation public trusts or carry out poverty alleviation through public welfare organizations. In order to help impoverished villages, enterprises ought to engage in projects of infrastructural, medical, educational, social and cultural development. As part of
2574-571: The effort of poverty alleviation. To reduce social and economic disparities between East and West, the government encourages cooperation of Eastern and Western business sectors, offers vocational training and sends talented youth and professionals from East to remote areas in Western China. The Chinese government fosters education of voluntary organizations which encourage the advantages of respective participants, e.g. students, experts, technicians, retirees, and other members of society. Thus,
2640-647: The existing village constitution have been developed in recent years. One example for these recent efforts is the Villagers Poverty Alleviation Working Committee ( 村民小组脱贫工作委员会 cūnmín xiǎozǔ tuōpín gōngzuò wěiyuánhuì ) in Ximeng County in Yunnan Province. Led by the “two Committees” (两委 liang wei ), which are the local party branch (村中国共产党员支部委员会 c un zhongguo gongchandang yuzhibu weiyuanhui ) and
2706-434: The fields of education, e-commerce, health, women empowerment and environmental protection. One of Alibaba's biggest initiatives is the establishment of Taobao villages that are named after Alibaba's online shopping website Taobao . These villages are transformed into e-commerce hubs to encourage farmers to sell their products online. Annual e-commerce transactions of over 10 million RMB and more than 100 online stores qualify
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2772-409: The food and clothing problem) as well as the “three guarantees” (i.e. guaranteed access to education, medical care and housing). Furthermore, for 2020, the per capita average of rural farmers is targeted above the national average. In order to achieve these goals, the government implements several strategies such as resettlement and industrial development of impoverished rural areas. In December 2016 ,
2838-504: The local government to take measures to “keep track of every household and individual in poverty to verify that their treatment is having the desired effect." The Party-state's poverty alleviation strategy is implemented on all administrative levels. At the central level, it is led by two main institutional bodies: the State Council's Leading Group for Poverty Alleviation and Development (国务院扶贫开发领导小组 guó wù yuàn fú pín kāi fā lǐng dǎo xiǎo zǔ) led by PRC Vice Premier Hu Chunhua represents
2904-416: The main functions of the State Council are to formulate administrative measures, issue decisions and orders, and monitor their implementation; draft legislative bills for submission to the NPC or its Standing Committee; and prepare the economic plan and the state budget for deliberation and approval by the NPC. The State Council has flexibility in decision-making, especially with regard to economic matters, but
2970-470: The main state institution mandated with poverty alleviation. Within the organization of the CCP , there exists an additional Central Rural Work Leading Group that also oversees poverty alleviation in the Chinese countryside. This group is led by PRC Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Han Changfu . The two leading groups have their counterparts at all administrative levels down to the township level. The PRC uses several mechanisms in order to implement
3036-721: The market, and expand online and offline sale channels. Large enterprises are encouraged to set up industrial investment funds in poverty-stricken areas and adopt a market-oriented operation method for the construction of industrial parks. Secondly, enterprises should furthermore be encouraged to recruit employees, strengthen pre-job and in-service training, provide labor and social security and achieve stable employment and income increase for poor households. Enterprises also should encourage private vocational colleges and vocational skill training institutions to recruit children from poor households, combine enterprise poverty alleviation with vocational education, and realize poverty alleviation through
3102-522: The national award may stimulate additional counties implementing Ximeng's governance innovation. The Chinese Government regards the participation of the whole society crucial for overcoming poverty. Therefore, the central government announced a statement on November 19, 2014, by the General Office of the State Council , how to mobilize all social forces to participate in poverty reduction and development in China. Participation by private companies
3168-734: The other way around. The individual households also assess the performance of their personal cadres. This motivates the cadres to lift their assigned households over the poverty line. The divide of living standards between coastal provinces and the interior regions as well as the divide between cities and the countryside grew massively since the mid-1990s. The nationwide implementation of the Targeted Poverty Alleviation Campaign and its accompanying measures for rapid poverty reduction, has led to considerable changes in village structures. Two main political goals are apparent: (1) new (adapted) governance structures enhance
3234-533: The overall effectiveness of the set of measures and (2) enable the party-state to reclaim lost ground in the villages. The latter must be considered in the light of the manifold reforms after the Chinese economic reform in the 1978, in particular the introduction of the Household responsibility system , and rural tax reforms in 2006. These profound changes enabled the rural population to emancipate themselves from
3300-439: The party committee and the villagers’ committee, which up until then had been led by the party secretary (村支书 cūn zhīshū) and chairman (村主任 cūn zhǔ rèn) respectively. In this system, the first secretary was a provincial cadre sent to the village for two years while still being employed by provincial authorities. The role was designed to fight clannism and enable effective poverty alleviation. New village governance structures within
3366-537: The party's efforts. A transitional period and enhanced control mechanisms might have to be put in place to prevent unsustainable poverty alleviation and to expose fake poverty alleviation (虚假脱贫 xū jiǎ tuō pín ). This sentiment is also reflected in Li Keqiang ‘s statement during a press conference in the course of the 13th National People's Congress in May 2020 . Li also spoke about the increased difficulties posed to
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#17327720407553432-574: The people are able to live relatively comfortably, albeit ordinarily. The term was first used in Classic of Poetry written as early as 3,000 years ago. Xiaokang also appears in the Book of Rites . The vision of a xiaokang society is one in which most people are moderately well off and middle class , and in which economic prosperity is sufficient to move most of the population in mainland China into comfortable means, but in which economic advancement
3498-610: The poor villages and households who have difficulty in using the internet or who do not have access to the internet, information services are established to offer detailed project plans and improve the efficiency of resource allocation. The "10,000 Enterprises Help 10,000 Villages" (万企帮万村) project is a large-scale example of the integration of the private sector and society into Targeted Poverty Alleviation. It functions through three mechanisms: (1) poverty alleviation through industry, (2) poverty alleviation through employment and (3) poverty alleviation through public welfare. First, in
3564-401: The premier, vice premiers, state councilors, ministers, chairpersons of commissions, the auditor-general, the governor of the People's Bank of China, and the secretary-general. The premier is responsible for the State Council and exercises overall leadership of its work. The secretary-general of the State Council, under the leadership of the premier, is responsible for handling the daily work of
3630-469: The red list will receive rewards in financial payment and/or payment in kind. Villagers on the black list may lose financial support by the government. The new Committee System of Ximeng has met with positive response on the national level and received the national poverty alleviation innovation award (全国脱贫攻坚组织创新奖 quanguo tuopin gongjian zuzhi chuangxin jiang ) in September 2019. The prominence through
3696-427: The reliance on local party cadres and the institutionalized dependencies. The party-state experienced a governance crisis in rural areas of the country. As part of its fight against poverty in the countryside, the Chinese Communist Party announced its plan of “building a new socialist countryside” (建设社会主义新农村) in 2005. The aim was to deal with three problems in the countryside: suffering amongst village people, poverty in
3762-408: The resources needed to develop. These people will need to be relocated. Between 2016 and 2020, the government plans to relocate 9.8 million people, most of them from western provinces. Some are disabled or seriously ill and rely solely on government allowances. Poverty alleviation has been one of Xi Jinping‘s priorities. The CCP set 2020 as the year that the country should wipe out poverty and become
3828-419: The targeted poverty alleviation campaign. Cadres are obliged to follow due process and report each step of implementation of poverty alleviation action. While good performance is rewarded with promotions and bonuses, bad performance is sanctioned with salary cuts, reduction in the bonus and refusals of promotions. Evaluation is carried out as a two-way-mechanism as cadres from higher scales control lower scales and
3894-478: The village committee (村民自治委员会 cunmin zizhi weiyuanhui ), the Villagers Poverty Alleviation Working Committee is composed of five to seven members (based on the number of households in the village) who are responsible for the success of their assigned households (ea. 15-30 households per committee member) to overcome poverty. The membership structure within the Committee resembles the existing power structure in
3960-400: The village. Members of the Committee include local party officials, leaders of the village community and leaders of the local branches of mass organizations. Accordingly, up to 60% of committee members are directly affiliated with the CCP. The Committees hold weekly internal meetings and monthly public meetings. Intra-Committee positions include a production officer (生产委员 shengchan weiyuan ),
4026-427: The villages. Clans in control would rule villages according to their own interests. Oftentimes, village cadres were clan members. In the past, the party had relied on local clans in order to maintain stability in the villages. Such villages were effectively independent kingdoms (独立王国 dú lì wáng guó). Money received from higher-level authorities for poverty alleviation was used for the benefit of clan members. Thus, Beijing
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#17327720407554092-462: The “10,000 Enterprises Help 10,000 Villages” project, companies like the Alibaba Group have been very visible in poverty alleviation in recent years. Alibaba has lent over 100 billion RMB (US$ 14.3 billion) to more than 2 million users in poverty-stricken counties in the PRC. Between 2017 and 2022, the holding plans to invest 10 billion RMB (1,43 billion USD) into poverty alleviation projects in
4158-441: The “real poor” and “really alleviate poverty” the state planned a national database ( jiandang lika ) where every poor household (instead of county) is registered, where their progress can be tracked and where they can be “managed dynamically”. By 2019, the system registered data of 128,000 villages and 290,000 households. It identified Guizhou, Hunan, Guangxi, Sichuan and Yunnan as the most poverty-stricken areas. In November 2015 ,
4224-409: Was $ 1.90 US dollars per person, per day in 2011 purchasing power parity (PPP). In 2015, the central government of China revised the poverty line, ruling that people with an annual income of less than 2800 RMB (400 US dollars per year or 1,10 US dollars per day) were in absolute poverty. In 2015, the government of the People's Republic of China initiated the “Decisions of the Central Committee of
4290-404: Was facing a lack of authority in certain parts of the country and hence had difficulties to fight rural poverty. To be better able to decrease poverty rates in the countryside, the party put in place the system of a rural first-secretary-in-residence (驻村第一书记 zhù cūn dì yī shūjì ). The first secretary sent to a specific village was to be in charge of the two village committees (村两委 cūn liǎng wěi),
4356-614: Was officially adopted by the Chinese government in 2014. Chinese premier, Li Keqiang , said in his government report in March 2014, “local governments need to merge poverty alleviation resources….and take targeted measures to ensure that assistance reaches poverty-stricken villages and households.” In November 2011, then Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao announced that China was raising the poverty line from RMB 1274 to 2300 (per capita net income). More than 128 million Chinese were living under that line, which meant they could only spend 1 US dollar per day. The World Bank ’s international poverty line
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