Azerbaijan: China can end absolute poverty by the end of 2020

What impact will the COVID-19 pandemic bring to China's goal of eradicating extreme poverty by the end of 2020? What are other countries’ opinions on China's efforts in poverty reduction? What other challenges will China face in poverty reduction after eliminating absolute poverty in 2020? Akram Zeynalli, Azerbaijan's ambassador to China, recently gave a written interview with China.org.cn. He indicated thatChina hadachieved unprecedented results in poverty reduction policy and made a significant contribution to the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, and that Chinesegovernment had already prepared necessary remedies to meet its annual goals and thus was sure of putting an end to this problem in China by the end of 2020.

Akram Zeynalli, Azerbaijan's ambassador to China

China.org.cn: China is expected to eliminate absolute poverty this year. What is your comment on China's efforts in poverty reduction?

Akram Zeynalli: First of all, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the leadership of the People’s Republic of China and the Chinese people for the great achievements obtained through tremendous poverty alleviation programs, implemented in the country last decades. It is very gratifying to see that 2020 is the final stage of the task to build China into a moderately prosperous society in all respects.

If we look at the measures taken in this direction in China for the past years and compare the results, we can understand the scope of the fight against poverty. As it is known when China began its reforms and opening-up policy 40 years ago, a significant segment of the population suffered from extreme poverty. According to 1978 statistics, 770 million people, or 97.5 percent of the rural population, lived below the poverty line. These are very significant numbers. Following reforms and opening-up policy, China has taken a number of medium- and long-term steps to combat extreme poverty and as a result, there has been a steady increase in rural incomes and a sharp decrease in the number of impoverished people. To meet the "zero-poverty" target by 2020, China has been following various poverty alleviation measures with distinct Chinese features, such as financial support to needy families, nine-year compulsory education for children, social insurance, agriculture modernization, agro-tourism boosting, creation of vocational schools and training centers under "employment-first" macroeconomic policy, developing transport infrastructure, and enhancing e-commerce in the rural areas and smaller cities. All these effectively have improved living conditions for China’s 1.4 billion populations in many aspects.

At the same time, China has achieved the UN Millennium Development Goals on poverty reduction, removing more people from poverty among developing countries. All these measures helped Chinesegovernment to eradicate the poverty within the country. It is heartwarming that the People's Republic of China, which has achieved great success in this issue, shares its experience with other countries and provides necessary assistance to many countries around the globe.

China.org.cn: In your opinion, what impact will the COVID-19 pandemic bring to China's goal of eradicating extreme poverty by the end of 2020? What are your suggestions?

Akram Zeynalli: From the beginning of this year, the Chinese leadership has repeatedly stated that the country will strive to achieve its economic and social development goals and all efforts will be directed to achieve those plans. As we all know, by the end of 2019, only 5.5 million impoverished people remained in the country. The issue was on the agenda of the Chinese government. This year, China is determined to end poverty as scheduled.

In my opinion, Chinese government has already prepared necessary remedies to meet its annual goals and thus, is sure of putting an end to this problem in China by the end of 2020.I am confident that by implementing well elaborated programs and measures, China will meet the essential needs of the people and win the fight against the poverty this year. In this context, political will, economic background and strength, as well as targeted projects will play important role. All ingredients of great success are in place and there are no doubts of effective implementation of Chinese government’s plans. We can only commend this success story and express our best wishes to Chinese people.

China.org.cn: What other challenges will China face in poverty reduction after eliminating absolute poverty in 2020?

Akram Zeynalli: As you may know, China's 2020 anti-poverty goal is focused on absolute rural poverty. China has achieved unprecedented results in poverty reduction policy and made a significant contribution to the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

At the same time, along with fighting against poverty, the People’s Republic of China continues its policy to reduce a large urban-rural gap and regional disparity. Therefore, the completion of the extreme poverty alleviation goal is not the end of the poverty fight, but an indicator that the country's poverty alleviation plans will enter a new stage. I consider that ending extreme poverty in China can be accompanied by strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality and stimulate economic growth. The economic growth, as well as modern communication and transport infrastructure of China will give an additional impetus to raise the welfare and living conditions of its population. After having gained the combat against the poverty, it will be a real challenge for the Government to save the achievements and to move forward to attain other goals of UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. As we know, elimination of poverty is the first goal of sustainable development, but other 16 goals are also of importance for China in building a prosperous society. I am confident that by increasing cooperation and partnership with other countries, China will attain more results in this direction.

China.org.cn: What are your suggestions on furthering international cooperation in poverty reduction?

Akram Zeynalli: It is obvious that the fight against poverty and the elimination of this problem are among the main goals and the social sphere is an integral part of the state policy. I have to underline that each country chooses their own development and the path that they select may be different from China. For that reason, it is impossible to copy and apply Chinese experience to other countries. However, information and experience sharing has primordial importance to those in need.

This approach should be important to developing countries, who are still struggling with extreme poverty and in my view, those countries can learn from China's historic achievements. In this context, it will be important to support different projects along Belt and Road countries and expand cooperation to new areas. The development projects in connection with the Belt and Road Initiative are aimed to benefit more countries and peoples. Mutual assistance, exchange of experience and implementation of joint projects are part of this policy. In this regard, I would like to draw attention to some cooperation projects realized in humanitarian sphere between the Republic of Azerbaijan and People’s Republic of China.

In December 2019, in order to support the poverty alleviation program implemented in the Malipo settlement of Yunnan Province, the Heydar Aliyev Foundation of Azerbaijan launched a renovation project of the sports field of school No. 2 in Malipo settlement. At the same time, the Embassy of Azerbaijan in China actively participated in the International Charity Fair "Love knows no borders" organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China and made contribution to various projects in Jinping and Malipo settlements. It is a good example of cooperation between our countries and clear manifestation of friendly relations between our peoples.

I am sure that only by cooperation and mutual assistance we can eradicate the problems related to poverty in the world and Azerbaijan stands ready to expand and deepen its relations with China in this direction.