FAO in China

2019 China Poverty Reduction International Forum: Sharing knowledge for global poverty reduction

16/10/2019

The 2019 China Poverty Reduction International Forum was held in Beijing on October 16, on the theme “Joint efforts on knowledge sharing to promote global poverty reduction governance.” The forum brought together over 200 participants from 30 countries, including government officials, representatives of international organizations, academia, NGOs and private sector.

The forum covered a range of topics from global poverty monitoring, targeted poverty alleviation effectiveness and innovation mechanism, community empowerment through improved governance, public management, to market access for smallholder farmers. Country-specific case studies were presented and discussed.

Guo Weimin, vice minister of the State Council Information Office, recalled in his opening speech that “China attaches great importance to contributing to global poverty reduction through cooperation”. He added that China's practice and wisdom should be shared with other countries and regions to provide experience and reference. Similarly, China also needs to learn from other countries and regions to extend its development paths in poverty alleviation.”

Fang Zhenghui, vice president of China International Publishing Group highlighted in the opening session that the annual forum has become an effective platform to share China's poverty reduction experiences and has gained a broad impact. “The 110 selected case studies from the first global solicitation for best poverty reduction practices will be announced soon. We believe this activity will better promote knowledge sharing and South-South Cooperation in poverty alleviation.”

UN Resident Coordinator Nicholas Rosellini also applauded China’s efforts in recent years. “China’s large contribution to realization of the first target of the Millennium Development Goal 1 -- halving the share of people living in poverty -- has been widely recognized and praised.” He said, China has much poverty alleviation experience to share with others. The vast experience that China has accumulated in dealing with agricultural development challenges, ways of increasing income, increasing food production and availability for others, and avoiding environmental damage, is a great resource for the whole world.

Zuo Changsheng, director general of Department of Development and Guidance, Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development stated that it is a universal goal of mankind to build a community with a shared future that enjoys common prosperity and no poverty. “China has always been a strong advocator, promoter and contributor to global poverty alleviation. While promoting poverty reduction at home, China has always done its best to provide assistance to other developing countries with no political strings attached, and has helped the vast number of developing countries, especially the least developed countries, in eradicating poverty.”

Yao Xiangjun, regional programme leader of FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, also observed that substantive decline in global poverty in monetary terms in the past three decades was highly driven by China’s progress. “FAO establishes a Strategic Programme on rural poverty reduction, and is partnering with China on promoting inclusive agriculture and food systems, reducing poverty and revitalizing rural areas. We will move forward in strengthening our partnership with China on rural poverty reduction,” said Yao.

At the forum, a list of 110 best poverty reduction case studies was announced. These case studies were selected from the Global Solicitation and Challenge Prize on Best Poverty Reduction Practices launched in May 2018 and will be made publicly available through the Global Poverty Reduction Inclusive Growth Portal(GPIG) and the Global Poverty Reduction Online Knowledge Sharing Database. The forum also launched the second call for poverty reduction case studies starting from October 16, 2019 to March 31, 2020.

Since its first launch in 2016, this forum was the fourth of the kind. It was co-hosted by the China Internet Information Center (CIIC), International Poverty Reduction Center in China (IPRCC), the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and World Food Programme (WFP); and jointly organized by China.org.cn, China Development Gateway, and Chinese Voice Think Tank, and supported by the China Institute for Poverty Reduction Research at Beijing Normal University and the College of Humanities and Development Studies, China Agricultural University.