Xi's article on poverty relief to be published

BEIJING -- An article by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, on poverty relief will be published Friday in the 16th issue of the Qiushi Journal this year.

The article by Xi, also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, called for efforts to address prominent issues to ensure rural poor people do not have to worry about food and clothing and have access to compulsory education, basic medical services and safe housing.

Solid efforts must be made in the work on poverty alleviation in 2019 and 2020, the article says, adding that new and greater contributions must be made to win the battle against poverty and realize the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects as scheduled.

Poverty alleviation has made notable progress, yet the difficulties and problems in winning the battle against poverty should be clearly recognized, the article says.

It points out that the basic requirements and key indicators for poverty alleviation are that rural poor people are free from worries over food and clothing and have access to compulsory education, basic medical services and safe housing by 2020.

Worries about food and clothing have been generally addressed, while securing access to compulsory education, basic medical services and safe housing remains weak, the article says, noting that tasks must be completed on time.

Since the battle against poverty has entered a key phase, the most important thing is to guard against slackness and slipping back, the article reads, laying out six work priorities that include strengthening the sense of responsibility and overcoming the hardest obstacles.

The article is the speech Xi delivered on April 16 at a symposium to address the problems concerning food and clothing of rural poor populations and their access to compulsory education, basic medical services and safe housing, during his inspection tour of southwest China's Chongqing Municipality on April 15-17.