BUENOS AIRES: China’s efforts to alleviate poverty have generated “unparalleled” results, making the Asian country an example in this field, Argentinean academic Santiago Bustelo said on Friday.
The researcher at the Argentina-China Studies Center of the University of Buenos Aires talked with Xinhua about how China’s example of poverty reduction “should be considered as one of the most important in the history of humanity.”
Bustelo said that China has achieved this result through strategies combining political leadership with a robust model of economic growth, as well as a strong capacity to adapt to different circumstances.
For this reason, he said that China’s goal of eliminating absolute poverty this year is achievable, as over 90 million people in rural areas have already been lifted out of poverty from 2013 to 2019.
The academic said China’s successful experience in poverty alleviation has shown the world that economic growth can also be fostered through fighting poverty and improving living conditions, not just the other way around.
“Many times, it is believed that the reduction of poverty is a consequence of economic development, but what China shows us is that the fight against poverty is one of the engines and causes of development,” said Bustelo.
“These are two concomitant processes that feed into each other. In a sense, economic development is necessary to reduce poverty, but in turn, poverty reduction is also a necessary factor in achieving economic development,” he added. – Agencies
