Chinese President Xi Jinping, also General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, speaks with villagers in the village of Shazhou, Rucheng County, central China’s Hunan Province, on September 16, 2020. Xi   inspected Hunan Province on that day (XINHUA)   

The poverty alleviation work is quite arduous, and its completion scheduled for this year has been affected by the novel coronavirus epidemic situation, making the tasks harder to be completed and more demanding. The CPC needs to remain true to its original aspiration, keep its mission firmly in mind, boost confidence and make tenacious efforts to win the battle against poverty across the board, which is a great cause of remarkable significance not only to the Chinese nation but all humans.  

Excerpts from Xi’s speech at a symposium on securing a decisive victory in poverty alleviation in Beijing on March 6, 2020  

“It is a basic requirement and core indicator in our poverty eradication effort that by 2020 we will succeed in delivering the Two Assurances and Three Guarantees* for impoverished rural residents. This is key to the success of the final stage of our fight against poverty.” 

Excerpts from Xi’s speech at a seminar on pressing problems related to the Two Assurances and Three Guarantees on April 16, 2019   

“I have emphasized repeatedly that we should maintain the current poverty eradication standard, neither raising nor lowering it.” 

Excerpts from Xi’s speech at a seminar on pressing problems related to the Two Assurances and Three Guarantees on April 16, 2019  

The fight against poverty requires perseverance since only two years are left to meet the goal of eradicating extreme poverty by 2020. The task will be extremely arduous. There should be no retreat until a complete victory is won.  

A firm hand in rectifying malpractices in poverty relief is needed. The practices of formalities for formalities’ sake and bureaucratism hamper the effective advancement of poverty reduction.  

Excerpts from Xi’s speech at a panel discussion with deputies from Gansu Province at the second session of the 13th National People’s Congress on March 7, 2019  

“At its 18th National Congress in 2012, the CPC vowed to achieve moderate prosperity in all respects throughout the country. Accordingly, the CPC Central Committee has included development-driven poverty alleviation in the Five-sphere Integrated Plan and the Four-pronged Comprehensive Strategy, and made it one of the key tasks for realizing the First Centenary Goal.” 

Excerpts from Xi’s speech at the Seminar on Targeted Poverty Elimination on February 12, 2018   

“We have produced a raft of major strategies for the fight against poverty on all fronts. This is a fight of unprecedented intensity, scale and influence. But we have made decisive progress, significantly improving the working and living conditions of poor areas and poor people, and in so doing we have written a new chapter in the history of the fight against poverty.” 

Excerpts from Xi’s speech at the Seminar on Targeted Poverty Elimination on February 12, 2018   

“We uphold the strategy of targeted poverty alleviation to improve effectiveness. Targeted efforts are essential to fight against poverty.” 

Excerpts from Xi’s speech at the Seminar on Targeted Poverty Elimination on February 12, 2018  

“We identify the targets of poverty alleviation, determine who will carry out the work and how they should do it, and make clear how to apply an exit mechanism for those who have emerged from poverty. We do not spray preferential policies indiscriminately or ‘kill fleas with a hand-grenade’. Instead, we adopt targeted measures for different villages, households and individuals according to their specific conditions, so that we can address the root causes of poverty.” 

Excerpts from Xi’s speech at the Seminar on Targeted Poverty Elimination on February 12, 2018  

The eastern region and central organizations should increase their support for severely impoverished areas and take more initiative concerning one-to-one assistance.  

Poverty relief officials must go deep into the villages and work hard together with the locals. They must not make token efforts or be slack at work.  

Excerpts from Xi’s speech at a seminar on eliminating poverty in severely impoverished areas on June 23, 2017  

The 12th Five-Year Plan Period (2011-2015)  

China has lifted more people out of poverty than any other country, and it was the first to realize the United Nation Millennium Development Goals.  

Our poverty relief goals for the 13th Five-year Plan period (2016-20) are as follows: By 2020, the rural poor will be guaranteed food, clothing, compulsory education, basic medical care, and safe housing; in poverty-stricken areas, the growth rate in rural per capita disposable income will surpass the national average growth rate, and major indicators of basic public services will approach the national average.  

Taking targeted measures to help the impoverished means lifting them out of poverty. We should set a timetable, a step-by-step schedule to complete this poverty relief program, being neither over-conservative nor over-impetuous.  

To eliminate poverty, the impoverished should rely on their own hard work. There is no mountain top we cannot reach; there is no voyage without a final destination.  

Excerpts from Xi's speech at the Central Conference on Poverty Alleviation and Development in November 2015  

Poverty alleviation of the impoverished rural population is our biggest area of weakness. Bringing about a moderately prosperous society in all aspects does not mean that each and every individual is ensured the same level of prosperity, but if the living standards of the currently impoverished rural population of over 70 million do not improve noticeably, our realization of a moderately prosperous society in all aspects will lack credibility.  

Excerpts from Xi's speech at the second full assembly of the Fifth Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee on October 29, 2015  

We should pay close attention to people in straitened circumstances, and extend care to them with respect and love. We should do our best to solve their problems and keep their needs and sufferings in mind, and bring the solicitude and concern of the Party and the government to the people in the impoverished areas.  

With regard to completing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects, the hardest and most arduous tasks lie in the rural areas and the poverty-stricken regions in particular. We cannot say we have realized a moderately prosperous society if the rural areas, especially the backward parts of the countryside, are left behind.  

We should work together with one heart to put the Party’s policies into full practice, and make every effort to ensure a better life for our fellow-countrymen in the rural areas.  

Excerpts from Xi’s speech during an inspection of poverty-alleviation and development work in Fuping County, Hebei Province on December 29 and 30, 2012  

*This refers to assurances of adequate food and clothing, and guarantees of access to compulsory education, basic medical services and safe housing for impoverished rural residents.