2020 Two Sessions: The year that China eliminates poverty

This year’s Two Sessions is destined to be a milestone in China’s history, as it will fulfill the Central Government’s decades-long promise to its people: to achieve a moderately prosperous society in all respects and to eradicate abject poverty.

“Moderately prosperous society” is the official translation of Xiaokang, a term that was first used in The Classic of Poetry, the oldest existing collection of Chinese poetry, written as early as 3,000 years ago.

Confucius philosophy adopted the term, referring to a basically well-off society in which the people are able to live relatively comfortably, albeit ordinarily.

Aerial photo of Huamao Village, Zunyi City, Southwest China's Guizhou Province. (Photo by Tu Min/People's Daily Online)

The former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping used the term as the eventual goal of Chinese modernisation after he launched an economic reform in 1978, believing that China will eventually build a Xiaokang society composed of a functional middle-class.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has pushed the goal even further since the 18th CPC National Congress in late 2012. In line with the achievement of a moderately prosperous society, eradicating abject poverty is a monumental goal, as poverty has plagued China and hindered the country’s development for thousands of years.

Though COVID-19 added challenges, with only half of the year left to achieve the goal, the Chinese government has promised nothing is going to disrupt the target set to eradicate poverty.

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the country has achieved significant progress in poverty reduction, with over 93 million rural people lifted out of poverty over seven years, while reducing China's poverty rate from over 10 percent to less than 0.6 percent in the past decade.

By 2020, China is committed to ensuring that all of the impoverished rural population has stable access to adequate food and clothing, compulsory education, basic medical services and housing, achieving the primary goals set in the United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 10 years ahead of schedule.