China confirms new human case of bird flu
(Xinhua/China Daily)
Updated: 2005-12-07 06:11

In addition to the 26.1 million absolute poor, China has an even greater number of transient poor, who continue to need assistance to begin to achieve their full potential, said Jemal-ud-din Kassum, vice-president for East Asia and Pacific Region of the World Bank.

The poor are increasingly concentrated in remote areas among the most severely disadvantaged populations, said Sari Soderstrom, another World Bank official, adding that close to 200 million people still live below US$1 a day almost all of them in the rural areas.

Aside from assiduous efforts by the Chinese government and people, aid from the international community remains crucial to resolving a chain of fresh problems in China's poverty reduction, including rural poverty and the plight of rural women, Jiang said.

In partnership with international organizations such as the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, China will develop projects to support agricultural and social development in central and western parts of the country and the old Northeast industrial bases, Liang Ziqian, a division director of the Ministry of Finance, said.