Successful Chinese model of poverty reduction discussed

ISLAMABAD: China is able to reduce poverty considerably during the last five years through a number of solutions that are offered at community level aiming to improve their live through new income generation activities.

There is no single solution for poverty alleviation and keeping this in view, Chinese government helped communities through multiple approaches involving measures like offering subsidies, financing income generating activities at local level and providing enabling policy environment and support for area specific economic activities.

This was stated by Lijian Zhao, Deputy Chief of Mission, People’s Republic of China in Pakistan said this during a special lecture ‘Poverty Reduction in China and Lessons for Pakistan’, held here Monday at the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI).

Lijian Zhao, while quoting various examples Chinese government’s success in poverty reduction, informed the audience that China would become a poverty free country by the year 2020. He said that a financing arrangement for projects at local level by federal, provincial and county government has been introduced so that the broader ownership for such developmental activities could be achieved.

Besides, he said, the banks in China were ensuring micro-financing to projects at local level that range from industrial to farming related activities.

Besides, educational subsidies were offered to students so that they could avail educational facilities and hence improve their ability to have access for better economic opportunities.

He said that CPEC was providing huge cushion for Pakistan’s efforts on combating poverty as the projects like power generation and the constructions of roads and highways was offering huge new economic opportunities to people of Pakistan.

He said that although, China and Pakistan were having different political systems and environments and hence, the poverty reduction solutions that China had applied cannot be exactly replicated in Pakistan, but there were various areas were lessened could be learned to be adapted according to local needs.

Dr. Abid Qaiyum Suleri, Executive Director SDPI while lauding the Chinese success in poverty reduction, especially by cultivating huge success under MDGs on poverty reduction.

He said that China had achieved the goals through targeted interventions and creating strong ownership of the people with the developmental process.

He added further that Pakistan could apply at least multi-tiers coordination at different level of governance and provinces with the help of federal government could take the financing for local projects at district level.

Shakeel Ahmad Ramay of SDPI earlier informed the audience about the Chinese government commitment with poverty reduction and said that we need to explore the areas where these lessons could be beneficial for poverty reduction in Pakistan as well.