Sichuan on target to eliminate poverty by 2020

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Sichuan province is on course to clear the "last mile" of poverty alleviation as the 2020 deadline draws near, a senior local official said on Wednesday during a press conference held by the State Council Information Office.

Peng Qinghua, secretary of the Sichuan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, said major achievements have been made in wiping out poverty in the southwest province.

By the end of 2019, around 200,000 people in Sichuan remained living in poverty, compared to 6.25 million at the end of 2013. Within six years, the poverty headcount ratio fell to 0.3% from 9.6%, according to figures released at the press conference.

Last year, the GDP of all the 88 impoverished counties in Sichuan was 955.79 billion yuan (US$139.55 billion), about 1.68 times that of 2013; and the per capita net income of impoverished households was 7,690 yuan, 2.81 times the figure in 2013.

Peng said the progress in poverty alleviation was also reflected in improvements to people's livelihood, better infrastructures, wider healthcare and social security coverage, and booming industries.

Over the past seven years, nearly 1 trillion yuan was allocated to poverty alleviation in Sichuan, including expenditures on education, public health, infrastructure, industrial development, ecological protection, employment, and social security, Peng said.

Sichuan also relocated a total of 1.36 million poor residents from remote and disaster-prone areas to more habitable places, while taking to heart the preservation of their cultures, traditions, heritage, as well as the environment.

Peng said poverty alleviation requires long-term efforts. He vowed to establish a long-term mechanism to sustain growth in the developing areas and help those who have been lifted out of poverty navigate future challenges.