China will speed up poverty alleviation through consumption by launching a nationwide campaign in September to boost sales of products from impoverished areas, the country’s poverty relief authority said at a press conference held on Aug. 28.

Passengers buy poverty alleviation products from the first batch of vending machines at the waiting room of Beijing South Railway Station, Aug. 29. (Photo by Sun Lijun/People’s Daily)

The month-long event has been jointly organized by 11 departments including the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development.

The relevant departments are introducing online and offline consumption-driven poverty relief platforms to facilitate the sale of goods from poverty-stricken areas. Customers can buy these products from e-commerce giants including JD.com, Pinduoduo, Taobao and Suning, as well as physical stores including Yonghui Superstores.

In addition, smart vending machines have also been installed at shopping malls, railway stations, hospitals, public institutions and so on to sell these poverty alleviation products.

So far, 76,152 poverty alleviation products from 22 provinces in the central and western regions have been included in the campaign. The figure is expected to rise to 100,000.

Wang Dayang, an officer of the leading group office, explained the certification procedures for these products. Companies or cooperatives can submit applications to county-level poverty relief departments. If the product is identified as a poverty alleviation product, the local government will publish the result under the supervision of municipal, provincial and national related departments.

Poverty alleviation through consumption is an effective way for enterprises and individuals to participate in poverty relief efforts.

Guangzhou in south China’s Guangdong province has established a trading market for products from impoverished areas. Thanks to the local government’s efforts and proper subsidies, the market-based model has opened up a fast track channel for consumption-powered poverty reduction.

According to statistics, sales of such products from poor areas have hit 24.3 billion yuan in the province.