92 Mil People in Poverty Registered in China

China has identified 128,000 impoverished villages and 92 million people living in poverty, said a senior poverty alleviation official on December 6. [Women Images]

China has identified 128,000 impoverished villages and 92 million people living in poverty, said a senior poverty alleviation official on December 6.

According to Liu Yongfu, head of the State Council leading group office of poverty alleviation and development, poverty has declined substantially in China, but the country still has 832 poor counties and districts.

About 116,600 work teams with 466,000 cadres were dispatched to the villages for poverty alleviation, he told a seminar in central China's Hubei Province.

"Almost all underprivileged households have a cadre responsible for poverty alleviation work," he said.

He pointed out that more work should be done to improve people's lives in poor areas in all respects, including education, finance and housing.

He also disclosed that in 2015, China will help about 500 impoverished villages through tourism.

Li Jinzao, head of the China's national tourism administration who attended the seminar, said that China has so far lifted more than 8 million people out of poverty by developing tourism.

Along with overall GDP growth targets, the government is focusing on raising the income of the country's population with a current goal to double per capita income from the 2010 level by 2020. To expand the safety net for those in poverty, the national poverty line was increased from 206 yuan (U.S.$ 33.5) in 1986 to 2,300 yuan (U.S.$ 374) per annum in 2011.

(Source: Xinhua)