China has removed 28 counties off its list of the poorest places in the country – the first time in over 30 years that the list of areas suffering extreme poverty has been reduced – under a drive by Xi Jinping to eradicate the problem.
Xia Gengsheng, of the State Council Leading Group Office on Poverty Alleviation and Development, said on Wednesday that 26 counties in nine provinces would soon be removed from the extreme poverty list following the removal of Jinggangshan in Jiangxi and Lankao in Henan in February.
Eliminating poverty is a key aspect of Xi’s ambition of making China a “modern socialist country” by 2050.
