Relocation programs accelerate China's campaign against absolute poverty

Authorities in Southwest China's Guizhou province announced on Dec 23 that they have completed a large-scale program of relocating some 1.88 million poor residents to places with better living conditions, marking an important step forward in China's fight against poverty.

China has long been dedicated to eradicating poverty, contributing to more than 70 percent of global poverty reduction. It aims to eradicate absolute poverty in 2020, fulfilling the first goal of the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda 10 years ahead of schedule.

To fulfill the mission of eradicating absolute poverty, China has been helping impoverished people move from mountainous regions to resettle in places with better natural environments and living conditions.

"Relocation is an important way to realize the goal of eradicating absolute poverty, as well as building a moderately prosperous society by 2020," said Wei Houkai, head of the Rural Development Institute at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

"Moving a large number of people out of environmentally-vulnerable mountainous regions helps achieve the dual objectives of winning the anti-poverty campaign and restoring the ecological environment," said Wei.