Photo shows a bridge in a village of Vientiane, Laos. The bridge was built under a poverty alleviation project carried out by Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in southern China. Photo courtesy of the poverty alleviation work office from Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region

While lifting itself out of poverty, China’s southern autonomous region Guangxi has also shared poverty reduction experience with neighboring ASEAN countries, such as Laos and Thailand, Xinhua reported.

In Vientiane, Laos, projects from China such as paddy fields, modern agriculture and poverty alleviation through tourism have benefited local farmers.

In September 2017, Guangxi kicked off a poverty reduction program in Laos, aiming to improve local infrastructure and public services through giving technological support. In recent years, such cooperation is not rare between China and Laos.

A farmer from Vientiane, who has travelled to China twice in order to gain knowledge in poverty alleviation, said he is using agricultural technologies he learned from China in order to boost local industries, such as weaving, cow breeding and corn growing.

Thailand, another beneficiary of China’s poverty reduction concept, is currently accelerating poverty alleviation through improving employment services and helping rural areas enhance their own capacity for poverty alleviation, according to Prof. Rajendra P. Shrestha from the Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand.