Poverty reduction work on track to meet target

China's poverty alleviation campaign has entered a critical stage. Based on the achievements made and experiences gathered in recent years, China is making greater efforts to lift the remaining impoverished population out of poverty. After solving the impoverished people's basic livelihood problems, China will focus on other issues, including providing safe drinking water, compulsory education, basic medical treatment and safe housing for them.

China's rapid economic development has helped it to solve the people's basic livelihood problems. Although it has been able to meet the basic food needs of the people, there is still room for improving drinking water security. Still, about 60 million people in rural areas, mainly in impoverished areas, face difficulty in getting drinking water.

This year and next, China will increase investments to implement drinking water improvement projects in rural areas, better maintain those projects, and expand the area of tap water supply, in order to further safeguard drinking water security in impoverished rural areas.