Excellency Mr. Chen Zhigang, Vice-­Minister from the State Council Leading Group

Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development of China (LGOP),

Excellency Mr. Chen Wu, Governor of the People’s Government of Guanxi Zhuang

Autonomous Region of China,

Excellency Dr. Ouk Rabun, Minister of Rural Development of Cambodia,

Excellency Attorney Noel K. Felongco, Secretary and Lead Convenor of the National

Anti-­Poverty Commission of the Philippines,

Excellency Ms. Jiang Qin, Minister Counselor, of the Mission of the People’s Republic

of China to ASEAN,

Excellency Mr. Thongphat Vongmany, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Forestry of

Lao PDR

Focal Points and Representatives of the ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Rural

Development and Poverty Eradication,

Honorable guests, ladies and gentlemen, friends and colleagues

Good morning.

    I would like to start by congratulating the State Council Leading Group Office of

Poverty Alleviation and Development of China (LGOP), and the International Poverty

Reduction Center of China (IPRCC) for successfully organising this forum. Your

commitment and dedication to convening this sustainable platform for exchange and

knowledge sharing undoubtedly contributes to the realisation of ASEAN and China’s

shared vision of peace and prosperity. I also would like to commend the Peoples’

Republic of China for time and again reaffirming its friendship and partnership with

ASEAN on social development and poverty reduction;; a critical issue and a pivotal

goal that both of us aim to achieve for the betterment of the lives of our peoples.

Taking stock of development partnership between ASEAN and China over the years,

I would like to focus on three main points;;

First and foremost, we have to tackle poverty from a multidimensional

perspective. We have witnessed ASEAN’s remarkable achievement in reducing

extreme poverty. From 17 percent of the regional population in 2005 to 7 percent in

2013, an estimated 132 million people were lifted out of extreme poverty1 in ASEAN.

At the global level, the number of people living in extreme poverty stood at 736 million

in 2015, down from nearly 2 billion in 1990. And the total count of people in extreme

poverty declined by more than 68 million people between 2013 and 2015.2 According

to the World Bank, much of the progress in the past quarter century has been in East

Asia and the Pacific, where China’s economic advancement has translated into

significant decrease in the number of the extremely poor.3 However, it is estimated

that there is a “slowdown in overall poverty reduction”. From 2013 to 2015, global

poverty declined by 0.6 percentage points per year, which is below that of 25-­year

average.

However, poverty is never solely about numbers. We must dive deeper and look

beyond the numbers and understand the nuances of the lived experiences and human

dimension of poverty. In fact, diving deeper into what we celebrate as shared

prosperity, we find that people in the bottom 40 percent live in rural areas. Extreme

poverty continues to be disproportionately and overwhelmingly rural.

The poverty rate in rural areas is more than three times as high as that in urban areas.4

Rural population has less access to education, infrastructure, and to basic “enablers”,

compared with other segments of society. Unfortunately, an even closer look reveals

that women and children are disproportionately affected by poverty5 and this is not

simplistically a dire result of economic factor but an amalgamation of political, cultural

and socio-­economic conditions.

This leads me to the second point I wish to make, which is the increasing

connectedness of rural and urban spaces or what we call “rural-­urban

continuum” and how we need to seize opportunities from this inextricable link to

reduce poverty and inequality.

Back in 1967 when ASEAN was formed, a majority of our population lived in rural

areas and was engaged in basic farming. Today, half of the population of ASEAN live

in urban areas. And it is forecasted that an additional 70 million people will live in

ASEAN cities by 2025. 6

1 Financing the Sustainable Development Goals in ASEAN: Strengthening integrated national financing

frameworks to deliver the 2030 Agenda, 2017.

2 “Piecing Together Poverty Puzzle: Poverty and Shared Prosperity 2018”, The World Bank, 2018

3 Ibid.

4 Ibid.

5 Ibid.

6 ASEAN Sustainable Urbanisation Strategy, ASEAN Secretariat, October 2018

Noteworthily, mega-­cities such as Jakarta, Manila and Bangkok, are not the only areas

experiencing rapid growth. We now see middleweight cities, with populations between

500,000 and five million also growing.”7 Such growth is propelled by cross-­border trade

and logistics resulting for example from proximity of ASEAN with China, Japan and

India, economic clusters in the region including major economic zones;; and satellite

regions outside of mega-­cities, among others.

Yet, intensifying urbanization, and interconnectedness of rural-­urban spaces, is not

without costs. Urban poverty and inequality impact cities in ASEAN through the spread

of slums and informal settlements, increase in informal employment, a lack of financial

inclusion and spreading gender inequality.8 Therefore, this so-­called “rural-­urban

continuum” must be properly understood, planned and managed so that it can

contribute to rural and urban development with least debilitating effects on the peoples.

Undoubtedly urgent actions are needed to reduce spatial inequality and poverty in

communities across rural-­urban continuum and to enhance an integrated policy and

collaborative framework in addressing inclusive development across the urban-­rural

continuum ensuring that no one and no place is left behind.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The third and final point I wish to bring to your attention is the need to make advances

in science, technology and innovation more inclusive to ensure that prosperity is

enjoyed by everyone.

ASEAN is poised to transition towards a digital economy. Currently, there are five (5)

interconnected digital technology trends that are likely to impact on ASEAN

economies, specifically in the areas of production, industrial structure and trade

patterns. These trends are: i) Internet of Things;; ii) big data analytics;; iii) artificial

intelligence;; iv) additive manufacturing;; and v) block chain.9 For the time being, the

digital economy only accounts for 7% of ASEAN GDP. However, when the time comes

that it is fully tapped and harnessed, it can uplift the region’s economy by US$1 trillion

by 2025.”10

In this regard, the importance of innovation is recognised by the ASEAN Leaders who

adopted the ASEAN Declaration on Innovation at the 31st ASEAN Summit. The

Declaration promotes the use of science, technology, and innovation (STI) in realising

sustainable development by promoting further use of STI to address global challenges

such as food security, gender equality, health, energy, environment, disaster

7 ASEAN Sustainable Urbanisation Strategy, ASEAN Secretariat, October 2018

8 Ibid.

9 “The Future of Technology: Opportunities for ASEAN in the Digital Economy”, in “Global Megatrends:

Implications for the ASEAN Economic Community”, ASEAN Secretariat, August 2017

10 ASEAN Economic Integration Brief No. 04/November 2018

4

management and empowerment of vulnerable groups. Nevertheless, we must ensure

that innovation is responsible and inclusive. And we must work strategically to mitigate

the unintended divisive consequences of utilisation of innovation while embracing its

potentials to advance social development process.

In September this year, ASEAN will collaborate with China for the 4th ASEAN-­China-­

UNDP Symposium with the focus on Innovation in Achieving the Sustainable

Development Goals and Eradicating Poverty. The Symposium, which is a continuing

partnership between ASEAN and China, will serve as a platform for all relevant

stakeholders to think together and share vision, practices, lessons-­learned and future

plans on innovation in eradicating poverty.

Ladies and gentlemen, let me conclude by expressing my high hope and that this

Forum which has been held for the past 12 years will foster our joint efforts to sustain

candid conversation, to arrive at innovative solutions and to implement sustainable

actions to alleviate poverty in all its forms, dimensions and experiences. It is through

our collective strength and solidarity, as friends and partners that we will make sure

that no one and no place is left behind.

Thank you very much