On February 25, 2021, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced a \"complete victory\" in the country's fight against extreme poverty. While the world lauded China's success in eliminating absolute poverty, the Chinese mainland recognized that the most challenging tasks remain in rural areas. It announced a strategy to ensure rural development, dubbing it a \"major task in realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.\"
Among the measures taken, providing a comprehensive and steady power supply stands out as fundamental for revitalizing rural areas. Energy is a major driver of socio-economic transformation, promoting innovation and industrialization. For instance, in Jinzhai County, Anhui Province, the local government installed solar power facilities, including 3KW distributed solar systems for 7,803 impoverished households, 60KW solar plants for 218 villages, and 15,000KW solar plants for 23 towns. These initiatives not only increased incomes but also ensured the use of clean and stable energy. From 2014 to 2019, all 71 poor villages on the list were lifted out of poverty, reducing Jinzhai County's poverty incidence rate from 22.1 percent to 0.31 percent. The World Bank attributes China's economic growth partially to its capacity to produce and supply clean energy, thanks to the government's and enterprises' focus on energy development.
Supporting and encouraging startups in rural areas is another strategy fueling rural revitalization. Through startup programs, individuals gain entrepreneurial skills essential for building successful businesses. In Guangdong and Guangxi Provinces, local governments and enterprises introduced projects and nurtured industries, initiating entrepreneurial training targeting rural populations. In Foshan's Nanhai District, over 526 entrepreneurial leaders from Guangxi's Shanglin County were trained to start businesses, helping over 5,087 people registered as poor to be lifted out of poverty.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
