Serve the People

By Carlos Martinez

In late 2020， the Chinese Government announced that its goal to eliminate extreme poverty had been met. At the start of the targeted poverty alleviation program back in 2013， under 100 million people were identified as living below the poverty line； seven years later， that number dropped to zero.

To eradicate extreme poverty in a developing country of 1.4 billion people is a truly extraordinary achievement. Only 72 years earlier—at the time of its founding—the Peoples Republic of China （PRC） was one of the poorest countries in the world， characterized by extensive malnutrition， illiteracy， foreign domination and technological backwardness.

Since Xi Jinping became Chinas top leader in 2012， he has made poverty eradication one of the countrys central policy planks， introducing a program of targeted poverty alleviation by identifying those who lingered in poverty and developing plans to meet their specific needs.

Who lived in poverty？

“In 2014， 800，000 Party cadres were organized to visit and survey every household across the country， identifying 89.62 million poor people in 29.48 million households and 128，000 villages. More than 2 million people were then tasked to verify the data，” according to Serve the People： The Eradication of Extreme Poverty in China， a dossier published on July 23 by the Tricontinental： Institute for Social Research.

The report is based on extensive research， case studies and interviews， carried out by a small team on the ground in China. While it is focused on the targeted poverty alleviation program， it also provides key historical background.

The most important early step was dismantling feudal ownership structures in the countryside and enacting comprehensive land reform in the early years of the PRC. Rural collectivization led to a rapid increase in productivity， “enabling the agricultural surplus to be invested into industrial development and social welfare.” Basic health and education services were extended throughout the country for the first time.

From 1978， China embarked upon a program of reform and opening up designed to increase productivity， technological capacity and income through the introduction of market measures and commodification of various parts of the economy. Between 1978 and 2013， the Chinese population undoubtedly experienced a huge improvement in living standards.