Reducing Poverty Together

Over the past several decades， China's poverty alleviation work has developed very quickly and has earned worldwide appreciation. As the UN's development network， the United Nations Development Programme （UNDP） has played a key role in poverty alleviation efforts across the globe， drawing on vast experience to assist China in developing solutions in its efforts to eradicate poverty.

China Report ASEAN sat down for an exclusive interview with Agi Veres， UNDP Country Director in China， to talk about the significance of China's poverty alleviation work and to anticipate further cooperation between China and the UNDP in 2017.

China Report ASEAN： How do you evaluate China's poverty alleviation work over the past several decades？

Agi Veres： Since the establishment of the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals （MDGs） in 2000， China has contributed significantly to the UN's poverty alleviation goals. China has made great leaps in reducing poverty and reached the benchmarks laid out in the MDGs， lifting more than 500 million of its citizens out of extreme poverty over the last three decades. In addition， since the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals （SDGs） in 2015， China’s commitment to poverty reduction has continued. Beyond the numbers that come from how many people escape poverty alone， there are a number of positive effects that go hand-in-hand with successful poverty alleviation programs.

At the same time， China has made a great impact globally by promoting South-South cooperation and increasing investment in other developing countries. For example， China has helped some developing countries build infrastructure facilities， improve healthcare and conduct technology transfer. This helps developing countries better cope with challenges in their development and facilitates in-depth cooperation in poverty alleviation internationally and strategically.

>> China Report ASEAN： During 2016， how did the UNDP help in China's poverty alleviation efforts？

Agi Veres： The year 2016 was special for poverty alleviation in China， for a number of reasons. Firstly， it was the first full year for the 2030 Agenda to implement the Sustainable Development Goals （SDGs）， and China championed to release early plans for implementation. Additionally， 2016 marked the first year of China's 13th Five-Year Plan. According to the Plan， China will eradicate extreme poverty entirely by 2020， which is an ambitious goal. Based on these factors， in 2016， the UNDP made contributions to poverty alleviation efforts in China， especially in monitoring through the application of big data in measuring poverty.

The UNDP has been experimenting with innovation on big data by developing the Living Standards Dimension of the Human Development Index， which serves to support income-based of poverty measures and will hopefully become a supplementary tool to assist policy makers. At the same time， the UNDP also formulated a report of the data it compiled. Now， the data collected from this report is available in an interactive visualization map. It allows users to zoom in on particular provinces of China to analyze development based on several indicators， including access to running water， access to sanitary toilets， access to indoor kitchens， access to living services for senior citizens， access to financial services， access to roads and access to mobile internet coverage. Nighttime light density is also included. The establishment of such a database is unique and quite different from what local governments and non-governmental organizations have done in efforts to reduce poverty. The UNDP also tried its best to help China conquer poverty at the local level， because we believe that if China wants to shake off poverty at the national level， it should start with its counties and have a multidimensional poverty strategy that also addresses inequalities.

China Report ASEAN： In your mind， what kind of work can China and the UNDP do together for other countries？

Agi Veres： I want to put the South-South cooperation at the forefront. In 2010， the UNDP and China's government signed a new agreement on strengthening South-South cooperation. Since then， the UNDP and China have jointly implemented multiple innovative projects， not only in promoting South-South cooperation between China and other developing countries， but also in improving China's participation in international development cooperation As China's global role and development assistance continue to grow， the UNDP's work with China focuses on five areas， including trilateral cooperation， experience sharing on foreign aid systems， global and regional issues， private sector engagement and South-South cooperation. Secondly， in terms of poverty alleviation， I think the UNDP and China together can do more to share experiences in working hand-in-hand on poverty alleviation. For example， we can provide guidance in areas of leadership， governance and targeted measures.

China Report ASEAN： What are the UNDP's plans for working with China on poverty reduction in 2017？

Agi Veres： Firstly， we will do more poverty monitoring by using big data and improving methods for tracking poverty.

Secondly， besides continuously cooperating with the Chinese central government， we will bring more focus to conducting poverty alleviation with local governments， because certain provinces are faced with unique difficulties. Therefore， we hope we can offer some methods in coping with poverty according to the actual social， environmental and educational situations of each place. The focus should also be on reducing inequalities in the process， not only focusing on scale of poverty.

Thirdly， we want to assist minority groups and women in China. For example， we plan to help minority groups in Yunnan Province maintain cultural heritage while leading a better life in their villages by linking themselves to the rest of the country via e-commerce.

Fourthly， we will help China achieve SDGs by deepening communication and providing better resources to some of China's poorest villages.