Int'l poverty-reduction seminar highlights cooperation amid pandemic

LANZHOU -- The 2020 International Seminar on Global Poverty Reduction Partnerships, held Tuesday in northwest China's Gansu Province, highlighted innovation and cooperation in poverty reduction amid the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Chen Zhigang, deputy director of the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development, said that the pandemic is a big test for all countries, but China has steadily accelerated its pace in implementing poverty-relief projects, with good development momentum seen in relevant industries.

"Cooperation and sharing offer great support for innovating poverty reduction," Chen said. "It is even more necessary to give full play to the role of multilateral mechanisms and promote the sharing of work and outcomes at a broader and deeper level."

Qu Sixi, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) China representative, noted that China has provided great inspiration to other developing countries, with all 832 impoverished counties in the country removed from the poverty list as of Monday.

The WFP has been working with China for 40 years and has witnessed and participated in China's achievements in poverty reduction, Qu said, adding that the country's experience in dry-farming technology and e-commerce in poverty alleviation can provide a reference for other developing countries.

Experts at the seminar believe that global poverty reduction is in urgent need of developing and applying digital innovations, enhancing experience exchanges and cooperation, and summarizing the best practices of China and the world on poverty reduction and development.

The seminar was co-organized by the China Foreign Languages Publishing Administration, the provincial government of Gansu, the International Poverty Reduction Center in China, the China Internet Information Center, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and the WFP.