Expanding “Incremental Space” for China’s Future

Ren Ping, People’s Daily, December 29, 2025 —

New Observations on Poverty Alleviation Areas in my country

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History often becomes clearer after it has been set aside for a long time.

The significance of China’s victory in the battle against poverty is becoming increasingly apparent. This is an important milestone in China’s modernization process, marking a solid step forward in achieving common prosperity for all people and having a profound impact on promoting global modernization.

The 15th Five-Year Plan proposal firmly grasps the goal of common prosperity and deploys a series of balanced and accessible policies and measures to safeguard and improve people’s livelihoods. The Central Economic Work Conference proposed that “we must adhere to the close integration of investment in things and investment in people” and required “continuous consolidation and expansion of the achievements in poverty alleviation.”

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, fiscal investment in people’s livelihood will account for more than 70% of the national general public budget expenditure. Promoting more financial resources to “invest in people” reflects the development principle of prioritizing people’s livelihood.

At this juncture, we once again study and comprehend General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speech on “Fighting Hunger and Poverty” delivered at the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Rio de Janeiro in November 2024, entitled “Building a Just World of Common Development,” and gain a deeper understanding of the original aspiration and mission of the Chinese Communists.

“China has always adhered to a people-centered approach and solemnly pledged that ‘no impoverished area or impoverished person shall be left behind’.”

“I have worked in villages, counties, cities, provinces and the central government in China. Poverty alleviation is an important part of my work and a major task that I am determined to accomplish.”

“If China can succeed, other developing countries can succeed as well. This is the global significance of China’s successful fight against poverty.”

“A major task that we are determined to accomplish” is a unique perspective for decoding the Chinese Communist Party’s leadership in winning the battle against poverty.

More than 30 years ago, Comrade Xi Jinping wrote in his book “Getting Rid of Poverty” that “weak birds can hope to fly first, and the poorest can become rich first.”

In November 2013, when General Secretary Xi Jinping visited Shibadong Village in Huayuan County, Xiangxi, Hunan Province, he first proposed the concept of “targeted poverty alleviation”.

In December 2020, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out at the Central Rural Work Conference: “After the goal of poverty alleviation is achieved, a five-year transition period will be established for counties that have been lifted out of poverty, starting from the date of their poverty alleviation.”

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It is thanks to the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee and the scientific guidance of the Party’s innovative theories that we have lifted nearly 100 million rural poor out of poverty in eight years and used a five-year transition period to effectively connect the consolidation and expansion of poverty alleviation achievements with rural revitalization, making solid progress toward the goal of common prosperity.

Last December, the heads of major international economic organizations who came to China to attend the “1+10” dialogue stated that China’s development achievements are remarkable, especially in the field of poverty reduction, where it has created a human miracle, and in terms of new quality productivity, it is at the forefront of the world. This fully demonstrates that the people-centered development philosophy upheld by the Chinese government is successful and feasible, and has important implications for the world.

Looking at China’s poverty-stricken areas from a global perspective, historic changes are taking place on at least three levels, which are of epoch-making significance.

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From a strategic perspective, China’s poverty-stricken areas are transforming from “weak links” in development into “new sources of power” for high-quality development, demonstrating unique resilience and potential in balancing development and security, and becoming an important “ballast” for coping with changes.

Given Sichuan’s “unique and important position” in the overall national development strategy, it is required to “quickly become an important growth pole and new source of power driving high-quality development in the west”; focusing on Qinghai’s “major mission” and protecting the “Water Tower of China,” it is proposed to “build a national clean energy industry highland, an international eco-tourism destination, and a source of green and organic agricultural and livestock products”…

Under the strategic blueprint of General Secretary Xi Jinping, my country’s western region has grasped its position in the overall national development landscape, adapted to local conditions, leveraged its strengths, and continuously expanded the depth of economic development.

Narrowing regional and urban-rural disparities can leverage late-mover advantages and unleash new growth drivers. Deep mountains, deserts, karst caves, grasslands… once inconspicuous “corners” have become crucial pillars for “building a regional economic layout and territorial spatial system that fosters complementary advantages and high-quality development.”

Gui’an New Area in Guizhou has achieved direct network connections with 42 major cities in China, and the world’s first 400G bandwidth computing power channel has been put into operation; Fuyang City in Anhui Province, formerly a major battlefield for poverty alleviation, has been transformed into the province’s second largest high-speed rail hub, and in recent years, nearly 800 projects with investments exceeding 100 million yuan from Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang have been launched…

By leveraging their own inherent advantages and upgrading their industrial capabilities, poverty-stricken areas are rapidly generating endogenous momentum, accumulating potential for economic development, and expanding strategic maneuvering space for Chinese-style modernization.

A single grain of “Zhangza millet,” originating from Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province, has been promoted to more than 10 provinces due to its drought and poor soil resistance. my country’s grain output has remained stable at over 1.4 trillion jin (600 million tons), achieving another high-level increase this year.

A single “silver wire” allows clean energy to be transmitted directly from Qinghai to the Central Plains, converting one-eighth of Henan’s total electricity consumption into green electricity. my country has formed a cross-provincial and cross-regional power transmission pattern with three major channels: north, central, and south, for the “West-to-East Power Transmission” project.

By firmly securing our food and energy supplies, we have the confidence and strength to calmly face risks and challenges.

In 2024, per capita consumption expenditure of rural residents in my country increased by 5.8% year-on-year in real terms, 1.3 percentage points higher than that of urban residents. By firmly grasping the strategic focus of expanding domestic demand and promoting the expansion and upgrading of consumption in rural areas, the strong domestic market will serve as a more solid and resilient strategic foundation for China’s modernization.

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From a geographical perspective, China’s poverty-stricken areas are transforming from “remote areas” into “regional nodes” within the new development pattern and the unified national market, fully leveraging the important role of rural areas as consumer and factor markets to revitalize China’s development.

The “15th Five-Year Plan” proposal emphasizes “strengthening the domestic economic cycle and smoothing the domestic and international dual circulation,” and points out that “we should give full play to the combined effects of the regional coordinated development strategy, the major regional strategy, the functional zoning strategy, and the new urbanization strategy.”

“With the deepening of the Belt and Road Initiative, Xinjiang is no longer a remote area, but a core area and a hub.” General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: “We must accelerate the construction of the core area of ​​the Silk Road Economic Belt and play a greater role in promoting the dual circulation of domestic and international markets.”

The Khorgos railway port saw over 9,000 China-Europe (Central Asia) freight trains pass through this year. The once remote border town, where “the road and people never meet,” has transformed into a prosperous hub, with industrial clusters such as commerce and logistics, and equipment manufacturing emerging from the former Gobi Desert.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, Xinjiang added more than 1,395 kilometers of railway operating mileage. The Lanzhou-Xinjiang High-Speed ​​Railway facilitates the development of western China, while the Hotan-Ruoqiang Railway connects southern Xinjiang, creating a prosperous corridor. From the “periphery of the railway network” to a “regional hub,” Xinjiang is experiencing a new development pattern and a new look.

Looking at China in the new era through the lens of Xinjiang’s development, the construction of a new development pattern is becoming a “systemic and profound transformation concerning the overall situation,” with border regions and poverty-stricken areas holding strategic importance and playing a pivotal role.

In Xilingol League, Inner Mongolia, herders can receive horse gear in their pastoral areas with just a few clicks on their phones when they shop online; in Zhongning County, Ningxia, logistics allows fresh goji berries to be delivered to thousands of households within 48 hours… Currently, my country has built 346,000 village-level comprehensive postal and logistics service stations, with express delivery service coverage exceeding 95% in administrative villages, and more than 100 million express parcels flowing through rural areas every day.

The development of a unified national market can be seen from the delivery services reaching rural areas. By removing bottlenecks and obstacles, the economic cycle between urban and rural areas and the domestic market cycle are becoming smoother. The advantages and potential of my country’s super-large-scale market are being continuously stimulated, and the “strategic superposition effect” is accelerating.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, all 832 counties that were lifted out of poverty developed two to three leading industries with prominent advantages and strong driving capacity, with a total output value of over 1.7 trillion yuan. The per capita disposable income of rural residents in the counties that were lifted out of poverty increased from 12,588 yuan in 2020 to 17,522 yuan in 2024, with the average annual growth rate exceeding the national per capita disposable income growth rate for four consecutive years. The areas that were lifted out of poverty were precisely integrated into the national economic landscape.

By addressing the shortcomings in agriculture and rural areas, a new development pattern is emerging, and my country’s development is progressing rapidly.

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In terms of driving forces, China’s poverty-stricken areas are transforming from the “extensive and backward” old driving forces into the “frontline” of new driving forces, deeply promoting the integration of technological and industrial innovation, developing new productive forces according to local conditions, taking on the “golden burden” of agricultural and rural modernization, and accumulating inexhaustible power for forward development.

“In building a modern socialist country in all respects, we must build not only prosperous cities but also thriving rural areas.” The modernization of agriculture and rural areas is crucial to the overall picture and quality of China’s modernization.

In Tianshui City, Gansu Province, the “Smart Orchard Big Data Platform” automatically generates irrigation, fertilization, and pest and disease control plans, transforming the farming method from “experience-based farming” to “data-driven tree planting,” which has significantly improved the yield of high-quality Huaniu apples.

Zhangwu County in Liaoning Province, located on the southern edge of the Horqin Sandy Land, has developed modern agriculture, resulting in a steady increase in corn production. It has also created the “Zhangwu Sweet Potato” national geographical indication product, turning the sandy land into a high-yield field.

We will promote collaborative research among agricultural science and technology forces, accelerate the large-scale application of scientific and technological achievements, empower agricultural efficiency and farmers’ income through scientific and technological innovation, continuously enhance the endogenous development momentum of poverty-stricken areas, and give wings to agricultural modernization.

Banyan Village is located in Huzhu Tu Autonomous County, Qinghai Province. It was once an impoverished village, but is now a “zero-carbon village”.

The plateau is arid and water-scarce, and the sun is scorching. But from another perspective, this disadvantage can also be an advantage. In 2017, experts came to teach people how to “grow the sun,” and a photovoltaic industry was developed based on local characteristics.

Photovoltaic power stations are being built on rooftops and barren hills, providing villagers with dividends; from solar streetlights to new energy vehicles and electric bicycles, from heated kang beds to electric kang beds, green electricity is illuminating villagers’ lives…

Looking at China today, photovoltaic panels pave the Gobi Desert as a “blue ocean,” wind turbine forests stand tall on the grasslands, and forest carbon sinks turn “green” into gold… By working together to reduce carbon emissions, pollution, expand green areas, and promote growth, and by continuously expanding the path from green mountains and clear waters to gold and silver mountains, green development is becoming a distinctive feature of poverty-stricken areas, helping to turn weaknesses into springboards.

By focusing on innovation and pursuing green development, and by examining the overall development of China from the perspective of poverty-stricken areas, we are full of confidence, strength, and power.