The Path Out of Poverty

Wang Fengjuan Jiao Meng Jin Ling

Lancang-Mekong countries are progressing hand in hand along the road towards the end of poverty， striving to thrive.

For many countries across the world， tackling poverty remains a stubborn challenge. Globally， some 1.2 billion people still live in extreme poverty， two-thirds of whom live in the Asia-Pacific region. Rural population are considered to be the most vulnerable. As a major development issue facing the countries along the Mekong， poverty alleviation is one of the five priority areas for cooperation under the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation framework.

Tan Weiping， deputy director of the International Poverty Reduction Center in China （IPRCC）， points out， “The Mekong countries are suffering from various levels of poverty， so its imperative to establish a long-term， effective cooperation mechanism to address this issue. Chinas experience in poverty eradication is valuable to the countries along the Mekong.”

Action Plans for Poverty Eradication

In recent years， Chinas achievements in poverty eradication have drawn attention from around the world. According to the United Nations Millennium Development Goals Report 2015， with the number of people China has lifted out of poverty accounting for 70 percent of the global total， China has become the first country to cut its poverty-stricken population by half and is on track to fulfill the sustainable development goals listed in the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

President of the World Bank Jim Yong Kim believes that China has lifted more people out of poverty through economic growth than any other country has ever done in the history of the world.

On March 23， 2016， during the first Lancang-Mekong Cooperation （LMC） leaders meeting held in Sanya， Hainan Province， the building of a community of shared future in the sub-region was proposed. The meeting set forth a series of measures concerning cooperation in poverty reduction， including implementing the “Cooperation Initiative on Poverty Reduction in East Asia” and establishing poverty reduction pilot projects in Mekong countries.

The recent second LMC leaders meeting adopted the LMC Five-Year Plan of Action （2018-2022） which includes a five-year plan for cooperation in sustainable poverty reduction aimed at promoting experience exchange and knowledge sharing among the Lancang-Mekong countries. Thanks to the joint efforts made by departments concerned of the six countries， great progress has been made over the last two years.

Pilot Projects

As the six countries along the Lancang-Mekong work to stimulate economic growth and improve the livelihoods of their people， poverty reduction has become a shared and pressing task.

China has organized experts to， based on field investigation， carry out pilot projects for poverty alleviation cooperation in six villages in Laos， Cambodia and Myanmar. On June 14， 2017， the Chinese embassy in Laos and the Lao National Committee for Rural Development and Poverty Eradication signed an agreement on the implementation of aid provisions provided by China for poverty alleviation demonstration cooperation projects in Laos.

The Chinese taskforce selected a target village in Vientiane and guided local farmers in growing greenhouse vegetables and organic rice. The pilot project has greatly increased the incomes for local farmers and now plays a demonstrative role for other projects in the region.

Chinese experts have also encouraged local villagers to determine what their priority demands should be and which sub-projects are to be implemented through voting. Capacity building， which aims to accelerate the villages endogenous development， is another important part of the project. In addition， villagers will participate in the construction of local infrastructure projects such as highways， toilets and a running water system.

According to Tan， while China still has a long way to go in its battle against poverty， as a responsible major nation China is firmly committed to supporting other developing countries efforts to alleviate poverty by expanding and deepening cooperation throughout the region. “We hope that under the LMC framework， multidimensional capacity building activities such as personnel exchanges， policy consulting， cooperation studies， training， information sharing and technical support will be conducted together with related departments in the five Mekong countries， so as to improve each nations poverty reduction capability， carry out practical cooperation in more areas and provide food and shelter to poor citizens，” said Tan.

From Tans perspective， these activities can improve community living standards and promote socioeconomic development. “We foresee that this cooperation program is going to provide an innovative model for village-level poverty alleviation， focusing on a comprehensive and integrated approach to public service delivery and capacity development，” he added. “It is hoped that this innovative and achievable poverty alleviation model can be replicated and introduced into other poverty-related projects and programs in our country as well as in the region.”

Comprehensive development is reflected throughout the whole scope of the project. No matter how big or small， each sub-item of the poverty alleviation process possesses a precise， varied and flexible plan which works to enhance these sub-projects collective effect.

Targeted design is also integrated into the projects from the initial feasibility studies to the final plans for implementation， with the needs of women， children， the elderly， the poor people and disadvantaged group receiving particular attention.

Apart from these pilot projects， China has also organized numerous training programs on poverty reduction， with the 12th such program providing training for 82 officials from Laos， 14 from Myanmar， 28 from Cambodia， two from Vietnam and one from Thailand. The “ASEAN+3” village heads exchange program， held in collaboration with the ASEAN Secretariat， is the first village experience project designed for foreign community-level officials in the region and has won wide acclaim.

Thumbs-up to China

Thongvanh Vilayheuang， acting chairman of the Lao National Committee for Rural Development and Poverty Eradication， believes that the demonstration projects under the “Cooperation Initiative on Poverty Reduction in East Asia” are conducive to improving the livelihood of people in Laos， Cambodia and Myanmar as well as narrowing gaps among ASEAN countries.

Vice Chairman of the Committee noted that Chinas Belt and Road Initiative helps ASEAN member states push forward cooperation in the areas of trade， personnel and finance. The Lao government has taken an active part in the implementation of the Initiative， as demonstrated by their support for the construction of a high-speed railway line which will promote poverty reduction in rural areas.

Cambodias Minister of Rural Development Ouk Rabun frequently expresses appreciation for Chinas assistance and support for road building， water supply and other infrastructure construction projects， as well as human resources development， in Cambodia. Cambodian Under-Secretary of State for the Ministry of Rural Development Hap Omaly explained that the building of the China-Cambodia Friendship Bridge and the establishment of the poverty reduction demonstration villages have written a new chapter for Sino-Cambodian friendship and contributed to the countrys fight against poverty.

“The success of poverty reduction policies and programs depends on the extent to which we create enabling environments for rural communities to take control of and be responsible for the development of their living standards and socioeconomic conditions，” said Ye Khaung， Myanmars Deputy Director of the Department of Rural Development of the Ministry of Agriculture， Livestock and Irrigation.