The battle against poverty is tough, but one that we must win; this is the solemn commitment by the Communist Party of China to the whole nation. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, poverty alleviation is the only task for which principal leaders of provincial-level Party committees and governments have signed pledges promising that they will get the job done. Officials of Party and government bodies at all levels, and particularly the heads of these bodies, must better fulfill their political obligations, foster a stronger sense of responsibility, and personally take action with a keen understanding of the historic mission that rests on their shoulders. 

Party committees and governments of impoverished counties assume the principal responsibility for the fight against poverty while heads of these Party committees and governments bear primary responsibility. In this decisive stage, our ranks of officials must remain stable and make the fight against poverty the main focus of their energy. That being said, officials who are not up to the demands of their office must be promptly replaced, while those who exhibit deceptive behavior must be held to account. Relevant departments of the central government should work on formulating an action plan for the fight against poverty and establish a clear timetable and road map for the next three years, thereby guiding us toward victory.

The objectives of our fight against poverty are to eradicate absolute poverty by ensuring that all rural residents under China's current poverty line are lifted out of poverty, and to resolve the region-wide poverty by ensuring that all poor counties leave poverty behind. Poverty alleviation standards are important benchmarks for identifying target groups, formulating assistance measures, and assessing the results of related initiatives. The CPC Central Committee has repeatedly emphasized that in this crucial stage of the fight against poverty, the standards for poverty alleviation are to make solid progress toward realizing the "Two Assurances" (assuring the rural poor population that their food and clothing needs will be met) and the "Three Guarantees," and to bring the key indicators for basic public services in poor areas close to the national average. We must remain committed to these objectives and standards, and not deviate from them. While ensuring that we do not lower standards or cut corners on quality, we must also make sure that we do not set standards or expectations too high.

We must continue the system of management whereby the central leadership formulates overarching plans, provincial authorities assume overall responsibility, and city and county authorities take charge of implementation. In formulating overarching plans, the central leadership produces effective top-level designs, which are mainly concerned with establishing policies and providing funds for local poverty eradication on the one hand, and tightening oversight over the evaluation of results on the other. In assuming overall responsibility, provincial authorities must play the role of an intermediate link that translates the CPC Central Committee's major policies into concrete plans for implementation, while ensuring that they are fully executed by strengthening guidance and supervision. 

In implementing these plans, city and county authorities must act according to local conditions and see that poverty alleviation policies and measures take root wherever they are put into practice. Evaluation mechanisms should be constantly refined according to our progress in the fight against poverty so that the overall responsibility shouldered by provincial authorities is not only reflected in requirements for their work, but also in assessments of their performance.

(Source: Extract from Xi Jinping's speech at a symposium on the targeted poverty alleviation campaign in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province, February 12, 2018.)

This episode is presented by Michael Wang.