Former Kyrgyz PM: China's poverty alleviation model important to the world

Over the past 30 years China has raised almost 800 million people above the poverty line. During an exclusive interview with China.org.cn, former Prime Minister of Kyrgyz Republic Djoomart Otorbaev said that the entire world, where poverty is still a problem, should look into the Chinese model and learn how to apply it. He also expressed the view that China’s experience of poverty alleviation is really very important.

Former Prime Minister of Kyrgyz Republic Djoomart Otorbaev

China.org.cn: Over the past 30 years China has raised almost 800 million people above the poverty line. What are your views on China’s achievements in poverty reduction, and what kind of lessons might other countries learn from China’s successful poverty reduction experience?

Djoomart Otorbaev: This is absolutely incredible, indeed an unprecedented case in history, when within this very short time China has indeed lifted 800 million people out of poverty. It is not only because of economic success, but also because of very much harmonized social environment in China. And China’s successful businessmen and successful enterprises have been socially responsible in devoting their successes and results into bringing society to a more harmonious level. This is an absolutely incredible success story.

Because what we see now in other parts of the world is that inequality is becoming a serious disease in many advanced countries. We observe it every day. And what we are seeing now is that they don’t have any clear idea of how to reduce inequality.

China’s model is absolutely ideal, which is important for our part of the world as well. So next to economic development, one has to pay very careful attention to social harmony. And this is where China has achieved such a tremendously important result. I think the entire world, where poverty is still a problem, should look into the Chinese model and learn how to apply it. Now I come to China more often to try to understand how things develop here in that area. Because alleviation of poverty is the most important factor in the quality of ordinary people’s lives. So that is why everyone should work harder – our future world will be a world without poverty. And China’s poverty alleviation model is really very important.

（Planning: Wang Donghai; Host: Liu Mengya; Editing: Jin Ling, Liu Mengya; Cameraman: Guo Junkui.China.org.cn, China Development Gateway, The Emerging Markets Institute of Beijing Normal University co-produced ）