A new concept and drive to reduce poverty

Targeted poverty relief is very important for China to meet the poverty alleviation target set out in the Rural Poverty Relief and Development Outline (2011-20). To achieve that goal, we have to change our concepts of poverty relief and development, reform management system and poverty alleviation. That is also important to improve the working mechanism of targeted poverty relief.

First, some local authorities misunderstand the meaning of targeted poverty relief. They assume the policy is aimed at helping the targeted group increase its income in the short term, or directly allocating poverty alleviation funds to the impoverished group.

In fact, targeted poverty relief means comprehensive, scientific, high-quality, highly efficient and continuous poverty alleviation. The poverty relief targets stated in the outline have to be achieved in an all-round way - the authorities have to plan and implement poverty relief measures according to the principle of poverty alleviation, implement high-quality poverty relief development projects and intervention measures, as well as improve the lot of the targeted impoverished group.