Interview: China’s poverty reduction “extraordinary” milestone in face of current challenges, says economist

BUENOS AIRES, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) — China’s success in reducing poverty constitutes an “extraordinary” milestone that reflects the “persistence” of the country in dealing with this issue despite current challenges, Argentine economist and China expert Gustavo Girado said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

The world can learn from China’s experience in fighting poverty, said Girado, director of postgraduate studies in contemporary China at the National University of Lanus, told Xinhua.

Through eight years of sustained work, China has lifted its entire population of rural impoverished residents under the current income standard out of poverty, and nearly 100 million poor people have shaken off poverty. China has removed all poor counties from its poverty list, and eradicated absolute and regional poverty.

“China’s public policy has the advantage of being committed to the five-year plan to meet this poverty-reduction objective,” said the expert, adding that the Chinese people can see that the political leadership “is keeping its word and has dedicated resources to the fulfillment of the goal.”

He also praised the institutional mechanisms used to organize the information on poor districts and families, underlining the institutional organization that China has achieved to obtain and maintain detailed information about the income level of the families most affected by extreme poverty.

That information, he said, allows them to identify main problems and to create a more specific public policy with a much greater impact.

Referring to the policies to encourage consumption, Girado said the improvement in consumption in the country is also an opportunity for all “economies that are trying to have or find in China a future long-term partner.”

In addition, the expert appreciated policies regarding China’s financial technology (fintech) sector, which allows “people to finance many enterprises with microcredit or look for small, cheap loans for development at the family, community, or municipal level.”