Chen Wenjun:

One last question.

China Daily:

The year 2021 was the first year for China to win the battle against poverty, as scheduled. I would like to ask what efforts the MOF has made in consolidating and expanding the achievements of poverty alleviation? What new plans will be taken in these aspects this year? Thank you.

Liu Kun:

Thank you for your questions. Poverty alleviation is the biggest concern of General Secretary Xi Jinping. The year 2021 was the first year of the transition period after China won the battle against poverty. The MOF has borne in mind General Secretary Xi Jinping's instruction of consolidating and extending the achievements of poverty alleviation while shifting toward, and pushing forward, all-around rural vitalization. We have maintained the overall stability of the central government's financial support policies, supported and firmly held the bottom line of preventing a large-scale return to poverty, and continued to push forward the economic and social development of poverty-alleviated regions.

First, we increased input. In 2021, the central government arranged 156.1 billion yuan of subsidies for shifting toward, and pushing forward, rural vitalization, an increase of 10 billion yuan from the central government's original poverty relief fund in 2020. We actively ensured funding for industry assistance. During the critical period of the battle against poverty, we gave transfer payments to 832 poverty-stricken counties. During the transition period, we continued to give transfer payments to poverty alleviated areas to ensure they get enough much-needed supplies to accelerate development. And we will continue to increase the funds in this regard.

Second, we highlighted precision. We promulgated the management measures for the central government's follow-up funds, which clearly defined the content of support and the negative list, meaning that this money can't be used in other aspects. We continued to delegate the approval authority for funding projects to counties. We continued to support poverty-alleviated counties to carry out pilot projects for the integration of agriculture-related funds, continued to implement policies such as tax incentives and government procurement, and provided institutional guarantees for the consolidation and follow-up work. 

Third, we tracked the effects and results. We strengthened the performance evaluation of the central government's follow-up funds, and encouraged all regions and departments to manage and use the follow-up funds well. We supported the improvement of the monitoring and assistance mechanism to prevent the return to poverty, gave priority to supporting the development of characteristic and advantageous industries in poverty-alleviated areas, and helped the poverty-alleviated people continue to increase their incomes. We also increased follow-up support for families relocated from inhospitable areas and improved work and living conditions in poverty-alleviated areas. 

With the joint efforts of all departments, positive results were achieved in consolidating and extending the achievements of poverty alleviation while effectively shifting and linking with rural vitalization, and the bottom line of preventing a large-scale return to poverty was guarded. According to the monitoring data, the income among people lifted out of poverty has continued to grow, and their per capita net income in 2021 was estimated to exceed 12,500 yuan. People's lives have been further improved.

General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out that the premise of rural vitalization is to consolidate the achievements of poverty alleviation, and we must continue to pay close attention to it. The central government will further strengthen the guarantee of input, and give priority to areas where the task of consolidating the achievements of poverty alleviation is heavy and the foundation to promote rural vitalization is weak. We will continue to enhance the ability of independent development in poverty-alleviated areas so that people's lives will become more and more prosperous. Thank you.

Chen Wenjun:

Thank you to Minister Liu Kun and to the two vice ministers. Also, thank you, friends from the media. That's it for today's press conference, goodbye.

Translated and edited by Zhang Liying, Wang Qian, Wang Yiming, Ma Yujia, Cui Can, Yuan Fang, He Shan, Zhang Jiaqi, Wang Wei, Duan Yaying, Huang Shan, Li Huiru, Yang Xi, Liu Qiang, Zhu Bochen, Wang Yanfang, Liu Sitong, Chen Xia, Zhang Rui, David Ball, Tom Arnstein, Jay Birbeck. In case of any discrepancy between the English and Chinese texts, the Chinese version is deemed to prevail.