China's anti-poverty success has digital backbone: China Daily website chief editor

China's digital revolution has played an indispensable role in the country's campaign to eradicate extreme poverty, Han Lei, editor-in-chief of China Daily website, said at an online international conference on Monday, singling out its impact in helping closing the educational and medical gaps and elevating rural economy and public morale for particular emphasis.

"The impact of the Internet on poverty alleviation will only get bigger," Han said.

The year 2020 is a landmark for China's efforts in securing a decisive victory in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and winning the battle against poverty, and Monday's online event was part of a series of activities aimed at promoting friendship and cooperation between ASEAN countries in the area of poverty alleviation.

Thanks to China's unprecedented investment in digital network infrastructure, nearly all Chinese villages (over 98 percent as of last October) have fibre broadband and 4G mobile connections. As a rising tide lifts all boats, even remote provinces like the hilly Guizhou in Southwest China could boast of robust growth thanks to its big data strategy, Han noted.

More importantly, "over 96 percent of China's middle and primary schools have Internet connection, a major step toward achieving educational equality," she said.

Such digital empowerment also applies to medical care. As China's elite medical facilities and professionals are concentrated in urban areas, rural population's limited access to premium medical services has long been a headache.

Yet China's digital revolution, especially its progress in big data and AI technology, has made "remote medical consultation and optimized deployment of medical resources" not only possible but a reality, she said.

Inclusiveness, one of the digital age's best known features, has long been credited a major stimulant for social economic development. Its manifestations in China's anti-poverty campaign were many and editor-in-chief Han picked two for illustration.

The first is about how the Internet brings the country's vast interior and countrysides into direct contacts with the outside world, helping them find previously unknown markets for their farm produces. The phenomenal popularity of live-streaming sales on Chinese social media "helped people in poor areas increase their sales and profits, therefore getting rich in their own rights," she said.

The other one, less known but no less important for China's success in poverty alleviation, is about how the country's almost ubiquitous Internet access and mobile penetration was employed to mobilize the world's biggest population of Internet users to support and participate in this collective effort.

"Because of the Internet, people have a better understanding of the campaign. Nearly 70 percent of China's Internet users have participated in it, either by direct purchases, donations or just social media 'likes' and 'shares'," said Han, citing a recent survey.