Eradicating absolute poverty amid Covid-19 to benefit world

BEIJING / WAM

The United Arab Emirates Ambassador to China, Ali Obaid Al Dhaheri, has praised China’s achievements of eradicating absolute poverty despite the Covid-19 pandemic.
The achievements showed the country’s high-standard planning, and will have ripple effect globally and benefit the whole world, the ambassador told Xinhua, the official state-run press agency of the People’s Republic of China, in a recent interview.
The removal of all national-level poverty-stricken counties from the poverty list represents an achievement in China’s endeavour to eradicate absolute poverty, which caps off a long-standing government policy of reducing inequities in society, he said.
When the World Bank first released poverty figures in 1990, two thirds of the Chinese population were estimated to be living below the poverty line. So, in just two generations, a significant percentage of the world’s population has been lifted out of poverty, the ambassador said.
It is also a strong indicator that China is right on track for achieving its two centenary goals of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects by 2021 and transforming China into a modern socialist country by 2049, he added.
He emphasised that China was the only major country in the world to see its economy growing rather than shrinking in 2020, which means that China retains its position as the biggest contributor to global growth, thereby providing a key driver of the global economic recovery.
He also expressed his appreciation for China’s achievements in fighting the pandemic. “The country has successfully quelled the virus and paved the way for an economic recovery. Additionally, the Chinese vaccine has offered a route out of challenges by providing many countries and peoples around the world with resistance against Covid-19.”
The UAE and China have built upon a strong and developing friendship throughout the course of tackling the pandemic last year, he said, noting that the profound friendship and cooperation between the peoples of the UAE and China shines more brightly today than ever.
As 2021 marks the centenary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, the ambassador said the party has achieved transformational economic and social development in China.
“We have seen the Chinese government improving the lives of millions and millions, and raising their standards of living,” he said. “In terms of the economic and social development of its people, the party has achieved so much more.”