Private firms need to play bigger role in poverty alleviation, says Evergrande head

Chinese private companies need to make more efforts to help with poverty alleviation in rural areas, as the country steps up its push for the ambitious plan to lift all the citizens out of poverty by 2020, said Xu Jiayin, chairman of China's leading property developer Evergrande Group.

"The key to the poverty alleviation is supporting rural industries, relocating villages as well as training the migrant laborers. To implement the projects, we also need to know how to communicate with locals,"Xu, a member of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said on Saturday at a press conference for the ongoing first session for the committee.

Xu said that more private companies should make moves to support the country to achieve its 2020 poverty relief target, which will form larger social power and contribute to the whole society.

"Currently, China still has more than 30 million people and over 80,000 villages living below the poverty line. If one in every 300 private companies makes a move, then every poor village in China would receive the support to deal with poverty alleviation,"Xu said.