The International Symposium under the theme of “Retrospect, Sharing and Prospect: Global Poverty Reduction and Rural Development” was successfully held on July 19, 2024. The Symposium was hosted by the International Poverty Reduction Center in China (IPRCC), with support from the China Office of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF).
A total of 50 participants, including experts and scholars from universities of China and foreign countries such as Peking University, Renmin University of China, Beijing Normal University, Oxford University, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, as well as international organizations such as the United Nations Development Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and the World Bank. Mr. Liu Junwen, Director General of the International Poverty Reduction Center in China presided over the opening ceremonies. Professor Xia Qingjie from Peking University hosted the session on global multidimensional poverty progress and rural development experiences sharing, Associate Professor Cui Haixing from Renmin University of China chaired the knowledge products releasing session, and Professor Hou Junqi from Beijing Information Science and Technology University presided over the session on research prospects for international poverty reduction and rural development. Mr. Wang Hong, Senior Policy Advisor and Senior Program Officer of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, attended the opening ceremony by video and delivered a speech.
The Symposium systematically summarized the achievements of the "China Poverty Alleviation – Knowledge Generation and International Sharing" project, a collaboration between the IPRCC and the BMGF over the past five years. Discussions were held on topics including China's experiences in poverty alleviation and rural revitalization, global multidimensional poverty reduction progress and international comparisons, and prospects for international poverty reduction and rural development research.
In his speech, Mr. Wang Hong, the Senior Policy Advisor and Senior Program Officer of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, shared the progress of the cooperation projects between the Gates Foundation and its partners in China. Since 2019, through the implementation of the "China Poverty Alleviation – Knowledge Generation and International Sharing" project, the Gates Foundation has summarized and analyzed the universally applicable Chinese poverty reduction experiences, mapped out China’s strategy for preventing poverty relapse and future rural development, and promoted international exchanges and sharing of experience in poverty alleviation and rural development, contributing to poverty reduction and rural development both domestically and internationally.
Professor Zhang Qi, Dean of the China Institute for Poverty Reduction and Director of the China Rural Revitalization and Development Research Center at Beijing Normal University, summarized and shared China’s experience in targeted poverty alleviation. He outlined seven key points: 1) the scientific and effective nature of the targeted poverty alleviation strategy ensured the precision and effectiveness of poverty alleviation; 2) the strong leadership and attention of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, with Xi Jinping at the core, along with the government's leading role; 3) focusing on the well-being of impoverished people and ensuring sustained and substantial financial investment; 4) adhering to development-oriented poverty alleviation; 5) mobilizing broad social participation; 6) establishing strict accountability, supervision, and evaluation mechanisms; and 7) emphasizing the importance of stimulating endogenous motivation and innovation to enhance the sustainability of poverty alleviation. Through the implementation of targeted poverty alleviation, the quality of life for the rural poor has been significantly improved, the face of the rural areas have been fundamentally changed, the development rights of the disadvantaged groups have been effectively guaranteed, and the capacity of primary-level governance has been enhanced.
Dr. Huang Chengwei, Director General of China Rural Revitalization Development Center, shared progress, challenges, and countermeasures in the transition period of China’s poverty alleviation. He emphasized the need to analyse the consolidation and expansion of poverty alleviation achievements with a reformative mindset and to address challenges through reform. Dr. Huang noted that new progress and achievements have been made in consolidating and expanding poverty alleviation achievements by focusing on key groups, critical areas, and vital regions. He also highlighted the establishment and improvement of dynamic monitoring and assistance mechanisms to prevent poverty relapse and the continuation of precise assistance. During China’s poverty alleviation transition period, two major phased achievements were formed: 1) material achievements, including sustained improvements in infrastructure and public services in poverty-stricken areas, and people’s growing sense of gain, happiness, and security; and 2) theoretical achievements regading effective cohesion aimed at stabilizing poverty alleviation to explore strategies and mechanisms to consolidate and expand poverty alleviation results after addressing absolute poverty.
Dr. John Giles, Lead Economist at the Development Research Group of the World Bank, explored the relationship between rural population migration and poverty reduction in China from an international perspective. He pointed out that the migration of rural labour to cities in China has not only continued to reduce poverty and prevent poverty relapse, but has also boosted consumption growth and improved rural households' ability to cope with risks. He suggested that developing countries could learn from China’s experience by accelerating the transfer of rural populations to urban areas to reduce rural poverty. Dr. Giles also expressed concerns about the public service shortfalls and human capital accumulation issues arising from urban-rural population mobility.
Associate Professor of Practice Chan Ping Hung, Associate Director of the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship of the University of Hong Kong, shared the experiences of HKU in participating in developing typical cases of China’s poverty alleviation. He offered unique perspectives and contributions on how to present China’s poverty alleviation to the world and introduce China’s poverty alleviation story. He pointed out that the poverty reduction experiences are highly demanded overseas, which could serve as a common international interest to drive more exchange and cooperation. He proposed that successful Chinese poverty alleviation cases should address overseas demand with forward-thinking approaches to resonate with international audiences, thereby promoting cross-disciplinary and cross-sector collaboration and proposing innovative poverty alleviation solutions. These efforts would maximize the advantages of Chinese poverty alleviation cases and strengthen international poverty reduction partnerships. The outcomes of Chinese cases could be considered for educational training content to provide experience and reference for the international community in exploring poverty alleviation and development paths.
Professor Zhang Haisen, Vice Dean of the School of International Development Cooperation at the University of International Business and Economics, spoke on the theme of “Promoting International Poverty Reduction Cooperation through Global Development Governance Reform”. He emphasized that trade investment, value chains, and development financing are key to global poverty reduction governance. According to data from the OECD, less than one dollar out of every ten dollars of development aid is used for poverty reduction. Professor Zhang highlighted that value chains in the Global South remain locked in low-end segments and industrial development and poverty reduction should be promoted by boosting exports. He argued that poverty reduction should be viewed from an international governance perspective, insisting on market openness and internationalization, establishing a competitive mechanism with broad participation, actively joining global value chains, reforming international development financial institutions, and enhancing the representation of the Global South in the international governance system.
In the report release session, Professor Gao Boyang from the School of Management Science and Engineering at the Central University of Finance and Economics, shared the key research findings of the 2023 Annual Report of International Poverty Reduction. The report systematically reviewed the global poverty reduction progress, key poverty reduction issues, and their outcomes, covering five aspects: global poverty reduction progress, the implementation of key poverty reduction issues, the policy supply and implementation effects of poverty reduction in major regions and typical countries around the world, the effective integration of China’s poverty alleviation achievements with rural revitalization, and global poverty reduction development prospects. According to the $2.15 international poverty line, the global poverty rate fell from 9.3% in 2020 to 8.4% in 2022, lower than the pre-pandemic level of 2019. However, the slowdown of global economic recovery, regional conflicts, and food insecurity have posed severe challenges to future global poverty reduction efforts. Professor Gao suggested that global poverty reduction faces long-term and diverse challenges and all countries should promote the Global Development Initiative, jointly build a community with a shared future for humanity, and further promote the process of globalization, with common development and cooperation at its core.
Associate Professor Wang Huaiyu from the School of Management and Economics at Beijing Institute of Technology, shared the main findings of the 2023 Annual Report on Poverty Reduction and Development in ASEAN. The report includes progress in poverty reduction in ASEAN countries under the impact of the pandemic, the implementation progress of key poverty reduction issues in ASEAN countries, international development assistance and cooperation for poverty reduction in ASEAN countries, China-ASEAN poverty reduction cooperation, and ASEAN poverty reduction development prospects. The report indicated that ASEAN economies have begun to recover gradually, and the rapid development of infrastructure and digital economy has brought more opportunities for poverty reduction in the ASEAN region. In terms of poverty reduction progress, poverty and inequality in ASEAN member countries have been effectively alleviated. The living standards across regions have continued to improve, though there is still a gap in basic public services between urban and rural areas. At the same time, international development aid and cooperation have played an active role in the progress of poverty reduction in ASEAN countries.
In the "Global Multidimensional Poverty Progress and Rural Development Experience Sharing" session, Dr. Sabina Alkire, Director of the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative, analyzed the global poverty and poverty reduction situation from a multidimensional perspective. She noted that nearly 30% of countries worldwide face varying degrees of multidimensional poverty, and more efforts are needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and to promote the implementation of more poverty reduction policies and programs. Dr. Sabina pointed out that cases of countries such as Colombia and Costa Rica demonstrate that poverty reduction policies and actions can be promoted even under challenging national circumstances. She highlighted that 25 countries, including China, Congo, and India, have successfully halved their multidimensional poverty index in 15 years (2005/2006-2019/2021), proving the feasibility of accelerated development. However, 1.1 billion people still live in severe multidimensional poverty in 2023. Dr. Sabina suggested that China’s experience in eradicating absolute poverty could provide valuable insights for other developing countries to implement multidimensional poverty reduction projects.
Professor Peter Lanjouw from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, took India as an example to discuss the progress of poverty reduction in developing countries from an international perspective. He highlighted that accurate and scientific measurement is crucial in poverty research. Taking India as an example, according to his independent research data, the rural poverty rate in India dropped from 25.7% in 2011/2012 to 18.7% in 2022/2023, and the urban poverty rate fell from 13.8% to 10.8% over the same period. However, concerns about data quality have led to significant controversy over the effectiveness of India's poverty reduction efforts. He explained that poverty conditions can be directly and effectively estimated and predicted using income, consumption data, and scientific models. The scientific selection of data and research methods is of great significance for conducting thorough poverty research.
Professor Lyu Fang from the School of Sociology at Central China Normal University discussed the issue of "global rural hollowing governance." He explained that rural hollowing occurs as a result of urbanization and industrialization, where population and capital from rural areas migrate to cities and modern industrial sectors, leading to the overall decline in the economic and social functions of rural regions. He systematically explained the common types and causes of rural hollowing observed internationally. He argued that the challenges of rural hollowing are particularly severe in East Asia, where developing countries face rapid occurrence rate of rural hollowing, spatial polarization, and great difficulties in governance. Rural societies are confronted with comprehensive challenges across economic, social, and cultural dimensions. Professor Lyu emphasized that in the process of managing rural hollowing, achieving the modern transformation of rural communities should be a key issue.
In the session of "Theoretical Interpretation and Practice of Poverty Alleviation and Rural Revitalization in China", Associate Professor Wan Jun from the China Institute for Poverty Reduction at Beijing Normal University suggested the key to understanding China’s poverty reduction experience drawn from practical experiences in case studies of poverty alleviation. He believed that in the process of summarizing internally and disseminating externally China's poverty alleviation experience, it is necessary to look at "government-led" from a more macro perspective, the essence of which is to enhance the strength of the state and leverages the role of the state, to create a development order, prevent short-term behaviour and promote marketizationthrough top-level design and resource allocation, as well as take into account fairness in order and efficiency, so as toensure that the impoverished population can share the fruits of national development. Associate Professor Wan argued that China's poverty alleviation practice should be viewed from a developmental perspective, noting that China's targeted poverty alleviation policy was not achieved overnight but was continuously optimized through development, ultimately resulting in ed a precise, efficient, and systematic and scientific policy system.
Professor Li Haijin from the School of Marxism at China University of Geosciences (Wuhan) discussed the two importance values of case studies on consolidating China's poverty alleviation achievements. Firstly, these case studies have summarized the poverty reduction and development experience in theory, and provided case support and empirical basis for enriching and expanding the theory of anti-poverty with Chinese characteristics, the theory of rural development, and the theory of primary-level governance. Secondly, these case studies have served as dynamic platforms for effectively telling China's story, showing China's image, and constructing a Chinese discourse system, thereby sharing China's poverty alleviation and rural revitalization strategies and wisdom with the international community. Professor Li also shared China’s typical cases in preventing large-scale return to poverty, consolidating and expanding the poverty alleviation achievements, and effectively connecting them with rural revitalization efforts, and building livable, workable and beautiful villages. He summarized and refined universal, rule-based insights and lessons embedded in these case studies.
Professor Tian Yu from the School of Business at Sun Yat-sen University spoke on the effectiveness and driving mechanisms of entrepreneurship in poverty alleviation during China’s targeted poverty alleviation period. He systematically reviewed the literature on entrepreneurship in poverty reduction, highlighting that entrepreneurship can serve as an important means for breaking the vicious cycle of poverty. He noted that the overall efficiency of rural entrepreneurship in poverty alleviation has been optimized due to the implementation of national poverty alleviation strategies and high-quality management level. The overall factor efficiency in rural entrepreneurship-led poverty alleviation is primarily derived from pure technical efficiency, which has been achieved through the top-down construction of a robust support system for rural entrepreneurship and the efficient entrepreneurship-focused poverty alleviation measures implemented by local governments at all levels.
In the session of "Research Prospects for International Poverty Alleviation and Rural Developmen", Dr. Dong Le, Programme Officer of Partnership and Innovationof the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in China, shared FAO's designated initiatives and practices for eliminating poverty and hunger in China. Dr. Dong also introduced the practical experience and effects of FAO's Hand-in-Hand Initiative, One Country One Priority Product Initiative, and Smart Agriculture Action Plans in the world and looked forward to contributing more to the global poverty alleviation in terms of industry development, women and youth empowerment, and the empowerment of vulnerable groups.
Researcher Xie Linghong from the Institute of Agricultural Economics and Development of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences shared insights on developing employment-friendly industries tailored to the needs of the impoverished. She noted that during the period of poverty alleviation, China has played a crucial role in stabilizing the employment for the poor by carrying out labour collaboration, promoting entrepreneurship, building poverty alleviation workshops, creating public welfare jobs, and strenthening skills training. Xie suggested that in the future, it is necessary to build core areas for industrial development, and select labour-intensive industries suitable for development based on local resource endowments, contributing to the consolidation of poverty alleviation achievements and the comprehensive revitalization of rural areas.
Professor Li Zhi from the Television School of Communication University of China, analyzed from the perspective of the global dissemination of China’s poverty alleviation achievements and believed that the media channels should be expanded. Taking a documentary about poverty alleviation in Lankao County as an example, Professor Li highlighted that China’s outstanding poverty alleviation achievements are rich and vivid and can be effectively communicated by expanding media channels, focusing on recording the poverty reduction stories at the time of their occurrence, and making good use of video expression, audio-visual dissemination,audio-visual dissemination, cross-platform distribution, and social media. He suggested that the global dissemination of China’s poverty alleviation stories should start from a "small incision" perspective, and develop case stories with details, empathy and connotation through international narratives, so that the global audiences can easily accept, understand, and connect with, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of communicating China’s poverty alleviation experiences internationally.
Professor He Ping from the School of Economics of Minzu University of China, shared insights on the Yanchi Model of inclusive finance. She pointed out that telling the story of China’s financial poverty alleviation requires a focus on the role of China’s financial poverty alleviation under market economy principles. She provided a detailed explanation of the "impossible trinity" problem and its causes in the development of inclusive finance. Through the analysis of the microcredit case in Yanchi, she illustrated how this region addressed challenges such as the difficulty for the poor to access loans, the challenges in credit evaluation, and the high risks for financial institutions. The Yanchi Model of inclusive finance shows how China’s financial poverty alleviation can help farmers get rid of poverty and the important role it plays in rural revitalization.
Associate Professor Shi Zhile from the College of Marxism of China Agriculture University, spoke on the topic of digital empowerment for high-quality rural revitalization. She provided an overview of the current state of digital empowerment in China’s rural revitalization, exploring the theoretical logic behind the digital empowerment in rural revitalization from the perspectives of digital technology, digital information, and digital knowledge. Associate Professor Shi also addressed the current development challenges. She believed that digital empowerment for rural industrial revitalization requires all regions to establish differentiated standards, match personalized needs, bridge the gap in urban-rural infrastructure development, cultivate suitable talents according to market demands, and build rural brands with localdistinctive digital culture.
Associate Researcher Li Yuheng from the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research of Chinese Academy of Sciences, shared his insights on the academic frontiers of international poverty alleviation and rural development. He identified three major challenges currently facing in the field of international poverty reduction and rural development: the large disparity between the northern and southern hemispheres, the increasing number of displaced populations, and the decline of rural areas. Associate Researcher Li introduced that 80% of the world’s impoverished population resides in rural areas, making rural revitalisation a key factor in achieving sustainable global poverty alleviation. He suggested that supported by advances in transportation, communication, and payment technologies, rural development may see increased economic exchanges on a larger scale within the context of the knowledge economy. To sustainably address the risks and challenges in rural development, he recommended adopting diverse approaches to enhance the economic and social resilience of rural areas.
