China has achieved the "miracle" of ending extreme poverty, according to President Xi Jinping. Over eight years, almost 100 million people have been removed from poverty, Xi's government claimed. At a ceremony in Beijing, the Chinese President said it was a "complete victory" that would mark history.
Experts questioned China's claim of ending extreme poverty
However, some experts questioned the way the claim has been measured. Extreme poverty in China is defined as earning less than $620 per year. On Thursday, Xi said in his speech that the "arduous task of ending extreme poverty has been fulfilled."
He added that all 98.99 million poor people had been taken out of poverty, while 832 poverty-stricken counties and 128,000 villages were removed from the poverty list, as per the current criteria.
Rural poverty eradication has been a significant initiative of Xi's eight-year tenure, as per BBC on MSN. Late last year, China announced that it removed the last remaining counties from poor regions. Officials said it achieved the goal of eliminating extreme poverty at the end of 2020.
The Chinese President handed out medals at the ceremony on Thursday to key figures in the poverty battle. However, some experts suggest China has a low bar in its definition of poverty, and ongoing investment is needed in the poorest areas.
China's threshold set to define extreme poverty amounts to $1.69 per day at the current exchange rates, compared to the $1.90 World Bank's global threshold. According to Reuters news agency report, vast income inequalities continue to exist in China.
China praises Xi Jinping's role in ending extreme poverty
China celebrates the official end of extreme poverty in the country. A propaganda campaign praised Chinese President Xi Jinping's role for cementing a history-making leader who reclaimed his country's rightful position as a global power. According to the Independent, the propaganda links China's successes to Xi, including fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. The country rose as a tech creator and its success in the lunar mission to bring back moon rocks.
The full-scale propaganda campaign filled state-controlled newspapers and airwaves with news on the anti-poverty milestone as well as the President's personal efforts in it. After taking power in 2012, they credit Xi with launching an initiative that enabled China to combat the 2030 target set by the World Bank for ending extreme poverty. The People's Daily newspaper report this week refers to Xi by his full name and title as party leader 121 times on the "historic leap."
The newspaper said, "General Secretary Xi Jinping stood at the strategic height of building a well-off society in an all-around way and realized the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation."
The claims come when China's economy is growing again after the coronavirus, while Europe, the U.S., and other regions are still struggling with outbreaks. Since the 1970s, China's standard of living has indeed changed dramatically, as per The Telegraph via MSN. China has hundreds of millions of living consumer lifestyles, passing generations in a way that could not be imagined.
However, skepticism met Beijing's claims as critics pointed to the relatively low poverty measure. Corruption cases linked to poverty funds and perennial questions whether data is massaged to meet the party's political objectives.
