Coronavirus and natural disasters not enough to derail China’s anti-poverty efforts, Beijing says

But with the economy blighted by hardline Covid controls until recently, as well as external headwinds, officials have repeatedly warned that poverty alleviation measures could be undone.

As of November, 65.7 per cent of households monitored in China’s less developed central and western regions were cleared of risks of falling back into poverty, while the rest have received government help, Xu said.

Authorities also said as of November the number of rural residents who were pulled out of poverty and entered the labour force reached more than 32 million.

Despite the government’s assurances, China’s bumpy economic recovery has triggered concern that efforts to reduce income inequality under “common prosperity” could be compromised.

“The real problem this year was the decreasing incomes of migrant workers,” said Dang Guoying, a senior researcher at the Institute of Rural Development of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

He said the declining incomes of rural residents was more of a concern than them slipping back into poverty.

The country has 300 million rural migrant workers, who were particularly vulnerable to pandemic disruptions that debilitated the service industry in cities.

Peng Peng, executive chairman of the Guangdong Society of Reform, a think tank connected to the provincial government, said providing “rural public welfare jobs” was an important way to prevent a return to poverty.

The NRRA said the rural residents it monitored had received subsidies, technical guidance and industrial services to help start agricultural businesses, while efforts were made to ensure children stayed at school and basic medical care and social security were available. Housing and safe drinking water were also provided to the group.

President Xi Jinping said during the rural work conference last week that increasing farmers’ incomes remained at the centre of the country’s agricultural and rural priorities.

“We must connect the assistance policies and measures for the poor population and poverty-stricken areas, and resolutely prevent the entire villages returning to poverty,” Xi said, according to Xinhua News Agency.