China to increase efforts to alleviate poverty

China will allocate more funds to lift its rural population out of poverty this year, with efforts focused on making education more accessible for the poor, said a top poverty relief official.

"Although pressured by the economic slowdown, poverty alleviation efforts should not be affected," said Fan Xiaojian, director of the State Council's Poverty Alleviation Leading Group Office. "The increase in funding this year is very likely to surpass the growth of last year."

In 2012, the central government allocated 299.6 billion yuan ($48.2 billion) to poverty alleviation, an increase of about 32 percent compared with the previous year.