UN hails China lessons in poverty fight

UNITED NATIONS－China has set an example on poverty eradication, particularly amid intersecting global crises, said the president of United Nations Economic and Social Council, or ECOSOC.

Collen Vixen Kelapile, chief of the ECOSOC, made these remarks during an interview following a high-level political forum on sustainable development that concluded last week.

"Poverty is everywhere. China has a good experience in dealing with poverty... there's a lot to learn from China in that area," Kelapile said.

"The goal of eradicating poverty is everybody's objective and it's already part of the 2030 Agenda."

Kelapile said the success stories of countries that have done well in poverty eradication "is something that should inspire any other nation".

The UN Sustainable Development Goals Report 2022, which was released earlier this month, estimated that an additional 75 million to 95 million people could fall into extreme poverty this year.

Some countries are "still struggling with the eradication of poverty" and global poverty "has gotten even worse in many of our countries" as a result of the pandemic, Kelapile said.

Besides the lingering pandemic, the situation is aggravated due to the convergence of increased fighting and the long-term climate crisis among other challenges, which could further jeopardize the blueprint of the Sustainable Development Goals as indicated in the report.

The Chinese leadership announced earlier last year that absolute poverty had been eradicated in the world's most populous country, Kelapile noted.

"The experiences that China brings to this subject are key for us to learn. This can only happen when there is truly committed leadership," Kelapile said.

"It's something that we need to congratulate the (Chinese) leadership for delivering for the Chinese people and hope that all of us can learn from that achievement."

Xinhua