China announced in February that it has eradicated extreme poverty. Yet, how should extreme poverty be defined, and is the Chinese government really doing enough in the fight?
A dilapidated building in a rural area of Guangxi autonomous region in southeastern China. President Xi’s poverty eradication program targeted China’s rural poor. Edwin Wisse. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
On Feb. 25, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that China has successfully eliminated extreme poverty. The declaration comes after a lengthy campaign initiated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that claims to have lifted an estimated 100 million people out of poverty in just eight years. President Xi's announcement is a major victory for the CCP, which is celebrating its centennial later this year.
If true, China’s poverty alleviation campaign could become a model of success for developing nations on how to eradicate extreme poverty in rural areas. However, just how comprehensive the program was in fully eliminating extreme poverty is debated, with critics questioning China’s measure of poverty itself. The World Bank defines extreme poverty as living on less than $1.90 a day; China’s threshold is slightly lower at about $1.52 per day. Regardless, China has made immense progress in the past 30 years in reducing the number of people living in poverty, even by World Bank standards. In 2016, the percentage of Chinese people living below $1.90 a day was only 0.5% of the population, compared to 66% in 1990.
While impressive, China’s declaration has garnered criticism for using a metric of poverty that does not adequately reflect the level of deprivation that remains. China has experienced rapid growth since the country introduced market reforms back in the late 1970s. Since 1978, China has averaged 9% real growth per year, higher than other rapidly developing Asian economies, according to the International Monetary Fund. Due to this rapid growth, China is now considered an upper-middle-income country by the World Bank. Under this classification, extreme poverty would be measured as living on under $5.50 a day, which accounts for 14% of the population, or roughly 200 million people.
Chinese President Xi Jinping meeting with World Bank President Jim Yong Kim in 2014. World Bank Photo Collection. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
With continued economic growth, a relatively successful battle against the coronavirus, and now at minimum a vast reduction in extreme poverty, Chinese officials hope to argue that their system of governance is more successful for international development than the West. China exports more than just commodities. As its rise to global superpower status becomes imminent, its influence outside of Asia continues to grow. In 2018, China announced the Global Poverty Reduction & Inclusive Growth Platform, providing a basis for developing countries to fight their own wars against poverty.
Whether or not President Xi was actually successful in eradicating extreme poverty in China remains to be seen. With the COVID-19 pandemic causing global poverty to rise for the first time in 20 years, the CCP hopes that its model inspires other countries to follow its path. In the meantime, China may bring the world one step closer to finally solving the puzzle of poverty.
Aerex Narvasa
Aerex is a current student at Occidental College majoring in Diplomacy and World Affairs with a minor in East Asian Studies. He is passionate about sharing people’s stories through writing, and always strives to learn about new places and cultures. Aerex loves finding new music and exploring his hometown of Los Angeles in his free time.