The Realization of Common Prosperity through Relative Poverty Alleviation: Gradient Development and Optimization

Zhao Limei

Sichuan Academy of Social Sciences

Abstract: Relative poverty alleviation is explicitly consistent with common prosperity. Relative poverty alleviation,which is part of the modernization of national governance capacity, is both an objective requirement of effective poverty alleviation and an inevitable approach to the realization of common prosperity.The alleviation of relative poverty and the realization of common prosperity are intrinsically coupled because they feature overlapping time sequences, monistic values, superimposed fields, similar systems,and homogeneous elements. The relationship between the two is essentially symbiotic, coexistent,and synergistic. Consequently, how to effectively alleviate relative poverty and build a dynamic longterm mechanism for relative poverty alleviation will be one of the major challenges for China to tackle before it can make more obvious and substantial progress toward common prosperity for all by 2035.This paper proposes relevant countermeasures and suggestions, which mainly concern the building of a dynamic, multi-dimensional mechanism for relative poverty alleviation and a coordinated mode for the two missions. The aim is to achieve a balanced integration of the academic logic, social logic, and policy logic.

Keywords: relative poverty alleviation, common prosperity, coordinated advancement

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 2012, the CPC Central Committee has attached great importance to poverty alleviation, systematizing institutional designs, and improving policies relating to poverty alleviation. At the Fourth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee, an overall plan was adopted to “consolidate the fruits of victory in the critical battle against poverty and establish a long-term mechanism to address relative poverty.” At the Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee, a long-range objective was proposed: “All people in China will achieve more obvious and substantial progress toward common prosperity” (Xing & Zhang, 2022). When it comes to an ultimate goal, both absolute poverty eradication and relative poverty alleviation are designed to lead to common prosperity. However, relative poverty is a multi-dimensional, relative, and long-standing challenge, which determines that its alleviation is a complicated and protracted battle and, to a certain extent, the focus and sticking point of the advancement towards common prosperity.Given this, this paper attempts to place relative poverty alleviation and common prosperity realization in the context of “coordination” while analyzing the connotations of relative poverty and common prosperity. By probing into the real challenges facing China’s pursuit of common prosperity through relative poverty alleviation in the new stage and seeking out the logic of their coordinated advancement, we can hope to tackle the delicate individual problems in relative poverty alleviation and achieve diversity in common prosperity.

Literature Review: Divergence in the Knowledge Spectrum

It is necessary to review previous studies of the connotations, explorations, and practices of relative poverty alleviation and common prosperity realization by drawing support from the existing literature on relative poverty and its alleviation, both in China and abroad. Such a literature review can help to better understand the guiding ideas, objectives, requirements,and choice of a feasible path regarding the realization of common prosperity through relative poverty alleviation in the new stage.

Review of Literature on the Issue of Relative Poverty

Relative poverty is a dynamic and historical concept known for being comparative,subjective, multi-dimensional, and enduring. Consequently, the effective alleviation of relative poverty involves a great deal of complicated and arduous work. The study of relative poverty in China is divided into three aspects: conception, measurement, and countermeasures. First,regarding the nature of relative poverty, it has been generally accepted in academic circles that relative poverty has its characteristics, which respectively are relativity (Luo, 2022; Xing& Zhang, 2022), subjectivity (Wu & Wang, 2020; Wang & Xu, 2022), multi-dimensional(Bi & Yang, 2022; Hu, 2021), and endurance (Tan, 2022; Kuang & Xiao, 2021). Second,regarding the measurement of relative poverty, there are two distinct approaches, the “highline” approach (Qu, 2020; Ye, 2021) and the “low-line” approach (Zhang & Zou, 2021). The eradication of absolute poverty may be a “tough war,” whereas the alleviation of relative poverty is more like a “protracted battle” involving a larger population, a broader scope, and greater difficulties.

Review of Literature on the Vision of Common Prosperity

Common prosperity, an essential requirement of socialism and a key feature of Chinesestyle modernization, has remained an academic focus. Since the Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee, common prosperity has gradually become a subject of intense scholarly debate (Liu, 2021). There has been steadily increasing research into the CPC’s vision of common prosperity in the dimensions of basic connotations (Zheng, 2021; Zhou& Shi, 2022), generation logic (Zhou & Tang, 2022), and realization paths (Luo, 2021; Wan,2022), yielding fruitful results (Wan, 2022). The basic connotations of common prosperity have been convincingly demonstrated by the historical logic, theoretical logic, and practical logic of the CPC’s hundred-year struggle (Yang & Liu, 2022). Specifically, to realize sustained common prosperity in China, we must uphold the CPC’s leadership as our political foundation; to achieve common prosperity for all, we must adhere to the people-centered development imperative; to create progressive common prosperity in all respects, we must implement a new development strategy that gives priority to the improvement of people’s livelihood.

Exploration of the Symbiotic Relationship between Relative Poverty Alleviation and Common Prosperity Realization

To fulfill the vision of common prosperity, we must consolidate the fruits of victory in the critical battle against poverty. It is necessary to build a long-term mechanism to address relative poverty and lay a solid foundation for common prosperity. Relative poverty alleviation is part of the beautiful vision of common prosperity and an inevitable approach to the realization of common prosperity. The relationship between the two has been studied from two main perspectives, the internal logic of their interactions, and the practical path of their interactions. First, regarding the internal logic of their interactions, the alleviation of relative poverty and the realization of common prosperity can complement and reinforce each other, for which reason the two are closely related, symbiotic, interactive, and compatible(Wei & Jiang, 2022). Their relationship can be described as “coupling,” a concept originally from physics. On the one hand, the realization of common prosperity shows the direction of relative poverty alleviation and is a driving force for the continuous improvement and advancement of relative poverty alleviation (Zhang, 2021; Shi, 2022; Wang & Xu, 2022). On the other hand, the alleviation of relative poverty is an intrinsic drive for the realization of common prosperity (Xie & Sun, 2021; He, 2022; Ma, 2022). Second, regarding the practical path of their interactions, the abovementioned symbiotic and coupled relationship between the two missions offers relevant experts and scholars insights into the realization of common prosperity through one feasible path, the alleviation of relative poverty. This practical path of interaction first requires adhering to the people-centered philosophy of development, which includes respect for the principal position of the people (Tan, 2020; Zhou & Huang, 2021;Chen et al., 2022; Chen & Zhang, 2022). This practical path of interaction also requires that multiple subjects should play their due roles. Common prosperity can only be realized with the participation of all people and the unity and collaboration of relevant subjects of social governance (Y. Liu & X. Liu, 2021; Yang, 2022; Luo & Lin, 2022; Wang, 2022). Moreover,this practical path of interaction involves the active collaboration of multiple subjects under the leadership of the CPC and the government. When advancing towards common prosperity,China must ensure the leading role of the CPC and highlight the executive role of the government (Guo, 2021). We must uphold the leadership of the CPC to build an institutional system for realizing common prosperity (Xin, 2022).

The Internal Mechanisms for the Coupling of Relative Poverty Alleviation and Common Prosperity Realization

The alleviation of relative poverty is an integral part of social governance with broadbased participation, and its scientific connotations are in line with those of common prosperity realization in the sense that they both echo the people-centered philosophy of development (Wei & Jiang, 2022). The concept of coupling can reflect either mutual enhancement on the positive side or mutual hindrance on the negative side. Judging from the objectives and paths of relative poverty alleviation, its core task concerns the identification and alleviation of relative poverty. Common prosperity is an essential requirement of socialism and a key feature of Chinese-style modernization. By comparing the connotations of the two missions, we can discover that the alleviation of relative poverty is an intrinsic initiative for the realization of common prosperity, and that the realization of common prosperity shows the direction of relative poverty alleviation and is a driving force for the continuous improvement and advancement of relative poverty alleviation.

Overlapping Time Sequences: The Two-Way Integration of Contemporary Elements and Traditional Factors

There is a need to review the process of poverty alleviation in China and identify the origins and practices of targeted poverty alleviation, relative poverty alleviation, and advancement towards common prosperity. On this basis, we should also probe into the coordinated advancement of the two missions at present and estimate when our long-range objective can be fulfilled. During the journey to fully build a modern socialist China, the alleviation of relative poverty and the realization of common prosperity are highly integrated into the major strategic arrangements and deployments of the CPC and the government and in the solutions to the issues relating to agriculture, rural areas, and rural people. This is particularly true in the vast rural areas, which have long been troubled by complicated issues relating to agriculture, rural areas, and rural people. For rural China, realizing common prosperity is a long-term aspiration and goal, while alleviating relative poverty is a shortterm, dynamic process of evolution. The alleviation of relative poverty can contribute to the realization of common prosperity. The time sequences of the two missions largely overlap.

Monistic Values: Being People-Centered

The alleviation of relative poverty and the realization of common prosperity are highly compatible in terms of values, for both are people-centered and aim to constantly satisfy the growing expectations for a better life. Such monistic values essentially determine that all decisions on alleviating relative poverty and advancing towards common prosperity must be for the benefit of the people. According tothe Report on the Work of the Government(2022), “We must act on the people-centered development philosophy and rely on the efforts of everyone to promote prosperity for all, so as to continuously realize the people’s aspirations for a better life.”①Source: http://www.china.org.cn/chinese/2022-03/14/content_78106770.htmWith a focus on quality growth, we should pursue a peoplecentered approach to development that improves the quality of life and achieves prosperity for all by supporting socialism with Chinese characteristics through an advanced system with distinctive characteristics, obvious institutional advantages, and a strong ability for selfimprovement. This fact determines that people-centered development is a prerequisite for relative poverty alleviation and common prosperity realization.

Superimposed Fields: Multi-Region Coordination and Multi-Filed Superimposition

At the present stage, relative poverty alleviation in China is manifested as a response to rural relative poverty and a solution to relative urban poverty. Nevertheless, judging from the geographical coverage, population, difficulty, and cycle of poverty alleviation, it is rural China that is the focus and sticking point of relative poverty alleviation. During the alleviation of relative poverty and the advancement towards common prosperity, a village can encounter various challenges of relative poverty caused by poor resource endowments,adverse market conditions, and ineffective development measures; meanwhile, the same village can also suffer problems arising from its pursuit of common prosperity (i.e.,polarization of interests, overlapping of interests, and integration of interests among subjects).There is considerable overlap between the challenges of relative poverty and the problems arising from the pursuit of common prosperity. In this sense, the spatial fields of the two missions are superimposed. In the overlapping area, the alleviation of relative poverty is more about tackling the diversity of more delicate and complicated individual problems,while the realization of common prosperity requires prioritizing a range of issues relating to agriculture, rural areas, and rural people (i.e., industrial development, living environment improvements, rural social governance, development of modern farming, etc.). The two missions follow the same logic of coordinated advancement in their spatial fields.

Similar Systems: From Logical Relations to the Design of a Coupling System

During the process of poverty alleviation, a series of policy systems, work systems,and institutional systems have been developed (Chen & Qi, 2021). These systems are still highly applicable to the current advancement towards common prosperity for all farmers in rural China and need to be upheld and improved over the long term. The alleviation of relative poverty and the realization of common prosperity have some similarities in institutional design, institutional arrangement, institutional effectiveness, ultimate objectives,and institutional advantages. Specifically, both missions contain the following major tasks: a) gaining a strong political underpinning, upholding and improving the systems and institutions for CPC leadership, and enabling effective organization and leadership;b) reducing relative poverty-caused disparities between groups and building a system for promoting common prosperity; and c) exploring and establishing a comprehensive system for relative poverty alleviation and rural revitalization that relies on the development of industry,scientific technology, education, culture, ecology, health, and consumption. These tasks need to be carried out in a coordinated and orderly way. Essentially, the realization of common prosperity is the continuation of targeted poverty alleviation, and a key step towards common prosperity at the moment is the alleviation of relative poverty.

Homogeneous Elements: Consistency in Subjects, Objects, and Paths

The subject of relative poverty alleviation consists of the CPC committees and governments at the central and local levels, as well as village-based work teams and staff,who are supposed to uphold “party [CPC] building” to form a core leadership and steer local villagers in the right direction towards common prosperity. Therefore, the subject of relative poverty alleviation is homogeneous with that of common prosperity realization. Both missions must deal with challenges concerning social governance and development, although their specific tasks may differ. At present, the object of poverty alleviation has shifted from issues concerning absolute poverty to those concerning relative poverty. The object of common prosperity realization (in the rural area) comprises a group of comprehensive issues,such as the development of rural industries, the practice of effective rural governance, and the exploration of a sustainable approach to rural development. When it comes to realization paths, some elements are shared by the alleviation of relative poverty and the realization of common prosperity.

Real Challenges Facing the Realization of Common Prosperity through Relative Poverty Alleviation

Relative poverty results from differentiation in social development (Xie & Sun, 2021).Its influencing factors are hierarchical, multi-dimensional, and intertwined. Currently, we need to carefully examine and tackle the real dilemma faced by relative poverty alleviation under the modern framework of common prosperity realization if we are to effectively advance towards common prosperity. The structural change in poverty-stricken populations explains why relative poverty is comparative, subjective, covert, and dynamic and why the alleviation of relative poverty is so complicated and arduous. On a macro level, the prediction that relative poverty alleviation is an arduous and protracted mission is based on various theoretical and practical factors, such as changing poverty thresholds (also known as poverty lines), continuous income increases, and institutional innovations. There have been changes in the alleviation of relative poverty in terms of its priority, objectives, methods, time, and space. In the new stage, the alleviation of relative poverty is sure to be more arduous and protracted, with greater difficulties to overcome.

Inconsistent Thresholds of Relative Poverty and Difficulty in Identifying Populations in Relative Poverty

Relative poverty manifests itself as unbalanced and inadequate development problems,and relative poverty alleviation is an inevitable requirement for tackling unbalanced and inadequate development (Lu & Yang, 2020). Relative poverty can be studied from various perspectives, including the usual perspectives of economics and sociology. Interpretations of relative poverty by different experts, scholars, and policymakers are reflections of their subjective feelings and cultural construction. It is noteworthy that criteria for relative poverty vary from country to country and from one historical period to another, making it difficult to set relative poverty thresholds. First, it is difficult to calculate and set relative poverty thresholds accurately for different regions in China, as there can be vast differences between developed and underdeveloped regions. Relative poverty thresholds are determined by local revenues, levels of consumption, and other aspects related to the distribution of material wealth. To highlight such vast differences, we can make a comparison between Zhejiang province and Gansu province. In 2021, Zhejiang launched a campaign to build itself into a pilot zone for common prosperity (by 2025) through high-quality development. Also, in 2021,Zhejiang province ranked third, while Gansu province ranked 31st nationwide based on per capita disposable income. According to the definition by the European Union (EU) in 2001,a region’s relative poverty threshold should be 60 percent of the median per capita disposable income, whereas some member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) set the relative poverty threshold at 50 percent of local median per capita disposable income. Either by EU standards or OECD standards, there is a significant gap in the relative poverty thresholds of Zhejiang province and Gansu province. Given that,we should try to find a way to calculate and set relative poverty thresholds more accurately for different regions in China to ensure that relative poverty thresholds target the right groups while avoiding “pseudo-poverty alleviation” (i.e., wasteful overlap and duplication of poverty alleviation). Relative poverty thresholds are concrete extensions of specific policy provisions and must be highly operable. The threshold setting is a demanding task in China and around the world. Second, the multi-dimensional complexity makes it difficult to calculate and set relative poverty thresholds. Multi-dimensional relative poverty (i.e., relative poverty from a multi-dimensional perspective) is influenced by social, cultural, and environmental factors (education, healthcare, housing, rights, etc.). These factors are generally evaluated subjectively and cannot be measured or calculated numerically. The thresholds of multidimensional relative poverty should be adjusted to reflect the economic disparities between regions and between urban and rural areas. Third, it is difficult to determine the period and range of threshold adjustments as relative poverty varies from region to region. Due to a wide discrepancy in economic growth between regions in China, a nationwide unified threshold of relative poverty is unlikely to come into being. In the future, relative poverty thresholds will be region-specific, which means such thresholds will be set and adjusted appropriately by regions according to local conditions. In practice, however, the period and range of threshold adjustments remain to be specified. Also, among experts, scholars, and policymakers, there is currently no unanimous conclusion in the academic community as to who should decide the adjustments.

The Coordinated Alleviation of Relative Poverty in Urban and Rural Areas: A Major Policy Challenge

The realization of common prosperity through relative poverty alleviation relies heavily on the two missions’ coordination, interactions, collaborations, and integrations. Poverty alleviation is advanced in a “dual model,” which separates rural poverty alleviation from urban poverty alleviation. Rural poverty alleviation in China is mainly about development-oriented poverty alleviation (e.g., targeted poverty alleviation), coordinated and managed by the former State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development. Urban poverty alleviation in China is mainly about social assistance, which is coordinated and managed by relevant ministries and commissions, including the Ministry of Civil Affairs of the PRC. The two different systems of poverty alleviation for urban and rural areas are split into policy strategies, target determinations, operational mechanisms, and choice of means. Whether in urban or rural areas, hierarchical implementation has become the institutional arrangement due to the division of existing poverty alleviation organizations and functions. Policies formulated on this basis have led to a range of problems. These problems hamper the progress of the coordinated alleviation of relative poverty in urban and rural areas. For example, there are urban-rural differences in poverty alleviation policies, and neither urban nor rural policies can be used to identify all groups in relative poverty, resulting in some omissions. China’s separate urban-rural structures determine the differences in resource allocation between urban and rural areas. Such dual model-based policies and systems, along with urban-rural differences in education, healthcare, social security, and finance, are unlikely to change significantly in the short term. For the above reasons, relative poverty will persist for a certain period, and the separate urban-rural structures have fragmentized the alleviation of relative poverty. The coordinated alleviation of relative poverty in urban and rural areas cannot be completed without adaptive innovations in relevant strategies and institutions.

Relative Poverty Alleviation as a Protracted Mission and Theoretical Innovation as a Pressing Task

Relative poverty is a long-standing challenge, and the alleviation of relative poverty is a protracted battle. China is still in the primary stage of socialism and will remain so for a long time to come. In such a context, two problems, namely, unbalanced regional development and inadequate employment, are still prominent, and the structural contradictions of an imperfect social security system remain to be resolved. At the stage of relative poverty alleviation,these contradictions increasingly hinder China’s advancement towards common prosperity.Consequently, the correct handling of the contradictions at the primary stage of socialism will be key to the alleviation of relative poverty. Under the leadership of the CPC, the Chinese people have made remarkable achievements in poverty alleviation, which have gained worldwide recognition and have contributed significantly to the acceleration of global poverty reduction in both theory and practice. At this stage, a relatively stable research paradigm has taken shape in the study of relative poverty in China, and innovative endeavors have also been made. Even so, as the theoretical research is still far behind practical exploration, the theoretical innovations of relative poverty alleviation have become a pressing task.

Shortage of Special Talents for Relative Poverty Alleviation

Strengthening the talent pool is a measure essential to the alleviation of relative poverty. In some areas, particularly in rural areas, there is still a shortage of talents for poverty alleviation and a lack of highly competent professionals, which is detrimental to the current alleviation of relative poverty. For example, when supporting industries for poverty alleviation in some counties and municipalities, some poverty alleviation officials did not carry out duties as required. They finished the project acceptance carelessly and were negligent in supervising the construction of poverty alleviation facilities, which later could not properly contribute to poverty alleviation goals. Worse still, they did not timely check relevant information when processing villagers’ applications for relief subsidies for developing local industries, leading to undesirable consequences (Bi & Yang, 2022). First,there is a continuous outflow of young talents from rural areas. Although the productive forces have witnessed continuous development in recent years, the imbalance between urban and rural areas remains generally unchanged. The outflow of young talents is particularly striking in remote areas, or rather, in remote rural areas in deep poverty. There is a large gap between urban and rural areas in the supply and allocation of resources, and villages in poverty-stricken areas do not have complete facilities or enough jobs to attract and retain talents. Young people with some knowledge and ability tend to flood into big cities to seek jobs, leaving many elderly people and children in the villages. Rural areas are being hollowed out, giving rise to a contradiction between talent outflow and rural demand. Second, village officials’ professional competence varies considerably from person to person. Currently,China is striving to promote the rural revitalization strategy in all respects. Against such a backdrop, however, some village officials are not competent enough to thoroughly understand and implement national policies. They may underemphasize measures for relative poverty alleviation and rural revitalization (talent cultivation, poverty alleviation by developing local industries, cultural promotions, etc.) or implement them in a careless and inefficient manner.As a result, they fail to offer any real help to villagers eager to escape poverty.

The Realization of Common Prosperity through Relative Poverty Alleviation: Countermeasures and Suggestions

The alleviation of relative poverty and the realization of common prosperity follow the same logic of coordinated advancement, featuring overlapping time sequences, monistic values, superimposed fields, similar systems, and homogeneous elements. The period between the 19th and the 20th CPC National Congress is when the timeframes of the two centenary goals converge. And the alleviation of relative poverty is an effective strategy to keep the objectives in this period from being interrupted, skipped, or disconnected, and a necessary step toward common prosperity for all. However, the alleviation of relative poverty is a complicated and systematic project that requires a scientific action plan and an effective action path. Through the alleviation of relative poverty, we are expected to make substantial progress in the realization of common prosperity.

The Strategic Approach to the Establishment of a Long-Term Mechanism for Relative Poverty Alleviation

To alleviate relative poverty, we can no longer use the previous policy models and must renew our ideas and seek a new approach based on the actual structural conditions in specific poverty-stricken populations (Chen et al., 2022).

Transformation mechanisms: Adjusting the concept of poverty alleviation and determining relative poverty thresholds.

From the established literature, it is clear that, unlike absolute poverty, relative poverty is multi-dimensional, which means it cannot be accurately assessed by such a single indicator as income but should be comprehensively assessed in a diversity of aspects, such as rights,consumption, and capability. According to the established literature on relative poverty,indicators of relative poverty concern aspects, such as living conditions, employment,education, health, social security, and social inclusion. The alleviation of relative poverty requires more specific, customized, targeted policies instead of relying solely on economic policy. Among such targeted policies is social security policy (e.g., policy on skills training to improve sustainability). Therefore, it is necessary to keep renewing the idea of relative poverty alleviation and explore a long-term dynamic mechanism to alleviate relative poverty.Relative poverty, a phenomenon resulting from differentiation in social development, has become the primary form of poverty and also a long-standing challenge. Clear and operable relative poverty thresholds are a prerequisite for the alleviation of relative poverty in practice.In view of this, I propose we set operable multi-dimensional thresholds for relative poverty according to the actual circumstances and develop indicators of relative poverty by taking into account both national and local conditions and integrating urban and rural areas.

Driving mechanisms: Enabling multi-agent collaboration and holistic alleviation.

Historically, the government has played a primary role in poverty alleviation in China.However, the focus of poverty alleviation is gradually shifting to relative poverty, which is rather covert and scattered. Also, the alleviation of relative poverty is, as aforementioned,an arduous and protracted battle. Consequently, the alleviation of relative poverty relies heavily on both the leadership of the CPC and the participation of the people. On the one hand, the government needs to give full play to its leading role in the top-down design and integrate all relevant parties into the overall layout of poverty reduction. The alleviation of relative poverty requires local governments and community-level entities to establish a modern scientific system and adopt professionally targeted measures to increase the efficiency and leanness of poverty alleviation (Dong & Hao, 2020). On the other hand,the government also needs to make the most of market forces to gather resource elements and build long-term development mechanisms. The intervention of market players, such as enterprises and financial institutions, can help identify the populations in poverty more accurately, make poverty alleviation more targeted, and put an end to the waste of poverty alleviation resources. To improve the government’s performance of relative poverty alleviation, we should build a holistic structure for the current alleviation of relative poverty and combine the government, the markets, and relevant social forces into an organic whole.

Talent mechanisms: Increasing people’s confidence and helping them acquire knowledge and skills to generate new vigor.

We should build special mechanisms for empowering people in relative poverty. As relative poverty has a multi-dimensional nature, its alleviation requires a package of policies. Unlike the eradication of absolute poverty, which was quickly accomplished in an“extraordinary” but effective way during the critical battle against poverty (2015-2020),the alleviation of relative poverty needs to be normalized under the national governance system (Chen & Huang, 2021). The core lies in the poverty-stricken people’s endogenous motivation to shake off poverty. There should be a mechanism that empowers groups in relative poverty to strive for their own development. The alleviation of relative poverty must focus on building the capacity of those in relative poverty to increase their endogenous motivation to shake off poverty and become prosperous. In other words, the previous “blood transfusion” mode should be replaced with a “blood-making” mode for poverty alleviation.It is necessary to alleviate relative poverty by empowering the poor and offering them development opportunities. More specifically, we should promote the low-income groups’social participation, competitiveness, and development potential by engaging them in more service items.

We should build a special mechanism for talent attraction. Rural service personnel are the “cells” and the “frontline force” in rural communities. In this regard, Sichuan province has launched a top-down campaign to pioneer institutional approaches to talent introduction.A prime example is Hejiang county in Luzhou municipality. Aiming to bring back migrant workers originally from Hejiang, the local government introduced diverse targeted policies,includingthe Supporting Measures for Gathering Talents in Hejiang Program, along with six projects (i.e., the leading talents gathering project, the urgently needed talents gathering project, the rural talents cultivation project, the business talents cultivation project, the craftsmen cultivation project, and the entrepreneurship and innovation-driven pioneering team project). The local government of Hejiang county also specified six occupational groups and their corresponding incentive pay, introduced a total of 49 high-end talents (including Chen Houbin, a national chief specialist in litchi and longan research), persuaded over 15,000 migrant workers to return to their hometown, Hejiang, and attracted 113 professionals in the industry, research, management, and marketing to community-level posts.

Diversifying Approaches to the Coordination between Relative Poverty Alleviation and Common Prosperity Realization

Theorizing the coordination between relative poverty alleviation and common prosperity realization.

According to the historical stages of China’s economic and social development, relative poverty can be divided into two types: a) non-conventional relative poverty against the backdrop of new risk normalization and b) conventional relative poverty in the context of new economic and social development. These two types of relative poverty exhibit stagespecific characteristics, with their connotations constantly enriching and their differences continuously increasing in both dynamic and static ways. Common prosperity is an essential requirement of socialism and a key feature of Chinese-style modernization. In the new development stage, the concept of common prosperity has been renewed in terms of scope,content, characteristics, prerequisites for realization, the relationship between equity and efficiency, the relationship between partial①“Partial prosperity” here refers to the principle of allowing some regions of China to become prosperous first.and common prosperity, and the internal relationships within the basic distribution system (Han & Jiang, 2022). At present, however,there is a lack of systematic theories about the coordination between relative poverty alleviation and common prosperity realization. Such theories about their coordination can effectively respond to new issues of relative poverty alleviation while offering new interpretations of common prosperity’s direction, path, and key tasks to ensure continuous advancement towards common prosperity and enable mutual promotion (He, 2022).

Enabling linked coordination between methods of organization and implementation.

For the alleviation of relative poverty and the realization of common prosperity alike,there are various methods of organization and implementation, including the leadership and guidance of community-level CPC committees, the implementation by governments at all levels, assistance and support from all walks of life, as well as the active participation of villagers. These methods unite the alleviation of relative poverty with the realization of common prosperity to form mutual promotion and interactive development. For example,land and labor resources used in relative poverty alleviation are also important factors for rural revitalization, for which reason the two should be considered in concert. We need to face up to the competence differences among individual villagers in the countryside and advance poverty alleviation and industrial development accordingly. Indeed, the alleviation of relative poverty focuses on satisfying the individual needs of villagers, while the realization of common prosperity is more concerned with the well-being of the entire population.Nevertheless, the two missions are both paths that can be taken to maximize the effect,which together will provide an important and effective approach to the alleviation of relative poverty and to the realization of common prosperity.

Enabling interactive coordination between means of organization and implementation.

In the Internet era, both the alleviation of relative poverty and the realization of common prosperity are faced with the challenge of data and information governance, which is non-existent in traditional rural governance. As rural China is increasingly involved in digital transformations, the Internet will expand the scope of rural governance and bring new problems which may be beyond the capacity of local authorities to deal with. One necessary mechanism for collaborative governance is to build an information exchange platform. After all, it is an inevitable choice for the government to use external means, namely, information and communications technology (ICT), to make its rural governance go digital. There is a high degree of linkage between relative poverty alleviation and rural revitalization during digitization (digital interactions in particular). The open data amassed in relative poverty alleviation can be transferred to rural revitalization. The rich governance experience and rural data gained in the first stage of poverty alleviation (i.e., targeted poverty alleviation)have laid a foundation, established credibility and validity, and offered policy guidance for rural revitalization through digital governance. The primary data amassed in relative poverty alleviation and rural revitalization can be exchanged and used alternately. It is fair to say that equipping agricultural and new rural businesses with digital technology is an effective approach to the alleviation of relative poverty, the modernization of rural governance in a multi-collaborative mode, and the revitalization of rural China.

Establishing an information monitoring mechanism.

The groups that live in relative poverty are the focus and sticking points of relative poverty alleviation and, therefore are concerned with the realization of common prosperity.Accurate information about these groups is crucial to the realization of common prosperity.This information covers both the macroscopic aspects of social reality (regional development,urban-rural disparity, overall income, etc.) and the development needs of households and individuals. There is a need for regular management of such information, and even more so for dynamic collection, monitoring, and updating of information on emergencies and abnormal changes. With reliable information in hand, we can use modern information technology and big data analysis to accurately grasp and examine any change of information about any group or groups whenever necessary so that the advancement towards common prosperity is always targeted and current. In addition, we need to establish sound legal norms and supervision mechanisms in this regard. As “legal affluence” is also essential to the realization of common prosperity, we must establish and improve relevant laws and regulations to ensure that the advancement towards common prosperity is always on track legally. We must adhere to the principle of the rule of law to rectify the accumulation of profits and wealth through unreasonable or illegal distributions, unfair competition, and any other illegal or unethical means, and keep shrinking the “rent-seeking” space by eliminating any obstacles to achieving our goal of common prosperity (Zhang et al., 2022).