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BEIJING, Oct. 16 (Xinhuanet) -- Saturday marks the 23rd International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, and also China's second National Poverty Relief Day.
Chinese President Xi Jinping says China is firm in its commitment to help and cooperate with developing countries to reduce poverty.
He was speaking at Friday's Global Poverty Reduction and Development Forum in Beijing. The forum also included speeches from leaders and senior officials from various countries and international organizations.
Chinese President Xi Jinping was joined by leaders from various developing countries to share experiences on poverty reduction. He says he felt what poverty is as a one-time farmer, and that poverty relief has always been his working priority.
"In the next five years, we will work to ensure that all 70 million people living in poverty will be lifted out of it. This will be an important step that China takes to implement the post-2015 development agenda," Xi said.
China was the first developing country to meet the target for reducing the population living in poverty by half, ahead of the 2015 deadline.
In the past 3 decades, China has lifted more than 600 million citizens out of poverty. That accounts for 70 percent of the numbers worldwide. China has also offered to help others out.
"China, while committed to eradicating poverty domestically, is also involved in South-South cooperation. And we have, within our capability, provided assistance to other developing countries without any political preconditions. We have supported the developing countries, in particular the least developing countries, in eradicating poverty," Xi said.
The country has provided aid worth nearly 63 billion US dollars to 166 countries and international organizations. More than 600,000 people have been dispatched for relief work. China has also unconditionally discharged loans and debts of the least developing countries seven times.
China has provided $63 bln to 166 countries, and dispatched more than 600,000 people.
And President Xi has pledged more help. This includes a 2 billion dollar assistance fund, more investments and debt relief. For countries present at the forum, China's experience and cooperation was welcomed.
Poverty relief is the primary target of the UN's post-2015 development agenda. It's also a major task for the Chinese government in the next five years. This forum showcased China's commitment to the UN agenda and its promises to its own people.
(Source: CNTV.cn)
