Beijing (AFP)
President Xi Jinping on Thursday called the elimination of extreme poverty in China a "miracle", a goal Beijing must achieve at all costs before the centenary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) which will be celebrated in July.
Since launching its economic reforms in the late 1970s, China claims to have lifted 800 million people out of poverty.
And the Asian country, now the world's second largest economy, says it officially eradicated absolute poverty last year.
"No other country can lift hundreds of millions of people out of poverty in such a short time," said the Chinese president, during a ceremony with great pomp at the People's Palace in Beijing.
The standard of living in China has changed considerably since the 1970s when the population lived in a collectivist system.
The country is today a gigantic market with hundreds of millions of consumers eyed by foreign multinationals.
"It is a human miracle that will go down in history," said the strongman of the communist regime, who promised to share "the Chinese experience" with other developing countries.
Xi Jinping, who has made the fight against poverty one of his priorities since coming to power in late 2012, also awarded medals to deserving officials.
The poverty line in China is defined as income below 2.30 dollars (1.90 euros) per day per person, which is a little higher than the floor of the World Bank (1.90 dollars).
But this level is much lower than the World Bank's recommendations ($ 5.50) for middle-income countries like China.
And if we follow this criterion, nearly a quarter of the Chinese population still lives in poverty.
While the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will celebrate its centenary on July 1, 2021, the regime has stepped up initiatives in recent months to identify households in need, distribute subsidies and complete major works.
At stake: the legitimacy of a state based on socialist egalitarianism but which holds the world record for the number of billionaires in dollars.
© 2021 AFP