Chinese Vice Premier Meets UK Secretary of StateVisiting Chinese Vice Premier Wen Jiabao met in London on Wednesday with Britain's Secretary of State for International Development Clare Short and they discussed issues of mutual concern.The Chinese vice premier briefed the British secretary on the achievements China has made in poverty alleviation in the past years. He said the Chinese government attaches importance to poverty alleviation. In 1978, the population living in poverty in the rural areas reached 250 million, accounting for 30 percent of the total population. After 20 years of hard struggle, the population living in poverty has reduced to 34 million, only accounting for 3. 7 percent of the total population. Short said the international communities should exert more joint efforts to poverty eradication. Without China's participation and efforts, the global object of alleviating poverty could not be reached, she noted. The Chinese vice premier arrived here on Tuesday for a six-day official visit to Britain. He will also visit Switzerland and attend the World Summit of Social Development and Beyond:Achieving Social Development for All in a Globalized World, a special session of the UN General Assembly to be held in Geneva. |
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