China’s Economic Stability Leads to Poverty Alleviation

China, a country with a land size of 9.6 million square kilometers (3.7 million square miles) is one-quarter of Asia's entire land size. It is located in the eastern part of Asia and its land size is almost the size of the whole of Europe.

Europe covers 10.2 million square kilometers (3.93 million square miles), making it the second smallest continent, if the seven continents model is anything to go with.

According to the UN estimate of March 2024, Europe, a continent of fifty countries, boasts of a little over 700 million, making it 9.2 percent of the world’s population compared to China’s 1.4 billion people which constitutes 17.72 percent of the world's population.

Asia, as a continent to which China belongs, covers a land size of 17.21 million square miles. In total, there are 48 countries, including China.

In 2023, Asia's entire population was estimated by the UN as being 4.8 billion people, a number of which China possesses 1.4 billion people. India's population has reached 1.5 billion people as UN data on the world's population estimate of 2023 shows; making it the most populous country in the world.

India overtook China, which has maintained the record for the longest time but declined because of a strong birth control policy introduced a few years ago.

Africa's land size is 30.4 million square kilometers (11.7 million square miles), a size enough to cover China, India, Japan, Mexico, and many European countries combined.

Africa boasts of 54 countries with a combined population of over 1.4 billion, only higher than China by a slim margin.

How is China Defying the Odds while Making Wins

China, like many other countries prospering today, did not get to where it is by compromise. It has traversed its own rocky and rough paths, most especially when the fight for independence from foreign and imperial control beckoned. Millions of Chinese laid down their lives, and many others sacrificed everything possible to own and keep safe the land they call home today.

China was among the poorest nations in the world in the not-too-distant past.

There were even internal tribal and regional wars, but in the end, a leadership overseen by a true patriot, Mao Zedong, ended the feuds and set the country on its journey of recovery from governance deficit and development.

Mao was a politician, Marxist theorist, military strategist, poet, and revolutionary who led the founding of the People's Republic of China. He is revered by all Chinese nationals for his extraordinary selfless leadership.

The turbulent storms did not hold the Chinese people down, and as such, they proudly boast of being second only to the United States in terms of economic growth today.

Since its founding, the Chinese people have cherished the Communism system of governance that is entrenched in socialism, which gives all natural resources, including land, to state control rather than individuals.

There's a traditional annual gathering of the Legislature and the Executive and the Judiciary and it is held at the beginning of each year following the execution of government's plans for the previous year.

The gathering is referred to as the Two Sessions and it is presided over by the President, who is the leader of political and foreign affairs and government.

In early March 2024, there were gatherings of the Two Sessions in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, and reports from the previous year's plans and activities were delivered.

Li Quiang, the Premier of the government, delivered a report on a summary report on the workings of the government for the past year.

Li disclosed that China's gross domestic product has surpassed 126 trillion Yuan (over US$17.5 billion), second only to the United States, which has US$28.2 trillion as its GDP.

The Premier of China is the equivalent to the Prime Minister of Great Britain and wields huge power, especially concerning the economic growth of the country and people's well-being.

According to the Chinese Prime Minister, there's an increase of 5.2 percent in the GDP, a boost that continues to make his country a formidable ranking, and a major global economic zone.

Every year, millions of Chinese are taken out of poverty as the government employs more people not only in state offices but also empowers the private sector to absorb more people who graduate from college and university programs.

"A total of 12.44 million urban jobs were added last year, and the average surveyed unemployment rate stood at 5.2 percent with consumer price index (CPI) rising to 0.2 percent and a basic equilibrium maintained in the balance of payments," Li reported.

An unemployment rate survey is done monthly in China and the system continues to help the government track accurate data on its people's living conditions and make interventions to improve the quality of life.

He outlined lots of government development projects and noted that all for the last year (2023) were executed fully as efforts aimed at fully industrializing and modernizing the country remain on course.

"Advanced manufacturing was further integrated with modern services, and a number of world-class innovations were made in major industries. C919, a homemade airliner, went into commercial operation and a domestically built large cruise ship was delivered and has begun operation. China accounted for over 60 percent of global electric vehicle output and sales," Premier Li said.

With President Xi Jinping in attendance and presiding, the Premier did not shy away from also disclosing the challenges the country faced and still has to contend with in its drive to a more advanced level.

He said there was an array of interwoven difficulties and challenges ranging from the sluggish global economic recovery following the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020, the geopolitical conflicts that became more acute, and protectionism and unilateralism, and other external factors that have more adverse effects on China's development.

Like anywhere else in the world, China has been hit by natural disasters, including floods, typhoons, and earthquakes. The country has fought over the few years since the end of the Coronavirus pandemic, which broke out in its own Wuhan region to recover and continue its fast economic growth.

Li attributed the efforts bringing back the country to its high economic growth acceleration to all the Chinese people and pointed out that his country is embracing at all times positive changes on many fronts.

He continued: "All this demonstrates that under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with comrade Xi Jinping at its core, the Chinese people have the courage, vision, and strength to meet any challenge and overcome obstacles. There's no doubt that in pursuing development, China will continue to surge ahead, cleave mighty waves, and advance toward a great future."

Over 3,000 foreign journalists, including the over hundred journalists on a study tour guided by the China International Press Communications Center Program, graced the Two Sessions’ opening and closing. 

The objective of foreign journalists visiting and being allowed to follow proceedings at the Great Hall of the People is to have firsthand information about China and report the facts rather than speculating from afar and without the truth.

War against poverty

In China, poverty is not a destiny for anyone, even for those born into poor families. 

This is why the Communist system is exerting efforts and succeeding in not only ensuring there is continuous mega infrastructural development and modernization of China but also the fight against poverty in the lives of all of its people has become a deeply seated pillar.

Professor Dr. Wang Sangui is the Dean of the China Anti-poverty Research Institute, a poverty alleviation study department of the Renmin University of China (RUC).

Dr. Wang shared with over 100 foreign journalists visiting the country under the supervision of the CIPCC that the Communist Party is succeeding, making sure that no Chinese citizen suffers or dies due to lack of money for food and other basic needs.

He spoke on the topic: "The war against poverty and the people-centered accurate poverty alleviation."

Wang disclosed that his country adopted two main goals to address both development issues and lift people out of acute poverty.

For the first centenary goal, Dr. Wang said the first goal is to develop the country and ensure that systems are functional and improved and modernization is realized in a prosperous, strong, democratic, and civilized socialist republic.

For the second goal, he said in 2002 the National Congress reported that finding that the country must be built as a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way and creating a new situation in the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics to benefit all Chinese citizens.

He added that his country is doing everything right to defeat the perception that it is impossible to get everyone out of poverty in a country.

"The Communist Party does not subscribe to that idea. No citizen is better than any other group of citizens. This is why there are opportunities in China for all in several dimensions and the goal of poverty alleviation is possible and already being achieved," Wang said.

According to the veteran academic, the Chinese Government is building modern houses, even in the rural areas for all families whose houses are in bad condition, and children whose parents do not have money to send them to school are now taken care of by the government.

The Daily Observer's sampling of views from Chinese citizens in Beijing and Jiangsu contains that the government‌ provides living wages and incentives for people who work and also other incentives to encourage those who don't want to work to acquire skills and learn to work for their progress and the good of the country.

Fight against corruption

Under the Chinese doctrine of governance, corruption is not only a public enemy by mere expression. Corrupt officials pay a very high price, and it is uncompromising.

China is Africa's biggest trade partner, but Africa's biggest reason responsible for its slow pace of development or backwardness is corruption.

Unlike China, impunity is rife in Africa, something Chinese officials think can be addressed if African countries begin to use forms of democracy that suits their respective national conditions.

China, although a socialist republic, is also using democracy through the involvement of its people at all levels in the national governance system, but with Chinese characteristics.

A weak justice system crumbles any nation and this The Communist Party stands against. Life imprisonment awaits corrupt officials who defraud the country of millions intended to further improve the country and give everyone a decent living condition.

The National People's Congress (China's Legislature) enacted strong laws and empowered the Judiciary to prosecute corruption cases.

There are even higher penalties for those who offer bribes and those who receive bribes, too.

For the past ten years, China has succeeded in purging nearly five million individuals, most of whom were officials of government.

All Chinese citizens encountered by the Daily Observer said President Xi Jinping led a corruption fight campaign and the country is now breathing an air of relief and hope for a more advanced and better future.

Like anywhere else in the world, there are still attempts by fraudsters to track and victimize people but China boasts of a classic security network that is apprehending fraudsters and bringing them before the law to account for their actions.

The Chinese people take pride in their national identity and snub efforts that are anti-communist.