Shanghai-Yunnan Pairing-off Poverty Alleviation

　　【Overview】 Since the establishment of twinning relationship between Shanghai and Yunnan, the party committees and governments of Shanghai and Yunnan have attached great importance and directly promoted the partnership. According to the requirements of clear ideology, good planning and mechanism, innovation and efficiency, they have been constantly exploring new areas and models for cooperation and established a three-dimensional cooperation mechanism with twinning relationship between the province and municipality, between various departments and between districts and counties with public participation, forming a poverty alleviation pattern combining government, enterprises and society. The cooperation has entered into a new phase of coordinated promotion of poverty alleviation and economic and social development instead of the construction of single funding projects.

　　Through high-level exchange visits and provincial (municipal) conference mobilization mechanism, they have a good understanding of the fundamental policy for cooperation. The two sides’ leading groups for the pairing-off assistance are composed of party committee and government leaders, covering relevant functional departments and prefecture, city, district and county-level governments. They hold regular joint meetings to make deployments for key tasks in the poverty alleviation cooperation. The cooperation areas keep expanding and have gradually extended from poverty alleviation and development, education, health, public welfare reconstruction and assistance for minority to agriculture, commerce, civil affairs, science and technology, tourism, culture and environmental protection, etc. There are now a total of 20 department working teams and the cooperation foundation is more solid. 14 districts and two large-scale state-owned enterprises in Shanghai have been twinned with 26 national key poverty-stricken counties in four prefectures and cities of Yunnan Province for poverty alleviation. They often contact and exchange ideas with each other and the cooperation, which is in various forms, has achieved good results.

　　The leading group offices for the pairing-off poverty alleviation in Shanghai and Yunnan have strengthened the macro-guidance and tracking services for the work. Yunnan Province formulated the "Interim Measures for the Management of Shanghai-Yunnan Pairing-off Poverty Alleviation Projects in Yunnan" and "Interim Measures for the Management of Shanghai Domestic Cooperation and Exchange Funds in Supporting the Industrial Development of Twinned Regions in Yunnan". Shanghai formulated the "Methods for the Management of Domestic Cooperation and Exchange Funds in Shanghai" and five implementation regulations, promoting the construction of institutionalization and standardization in the twinning poverty alleviation.

　　In 2009, according to the “Guidance on 2009-2010 East-West Pairing-off Poverty Reduction” issued by LGOP, under the leadership of the party committees and governments of the two sides, supported by all circles of society, the pairing-off poverty reduction between Shanghai and Yunnan was orderly, effective and efficiently carried out.

　　【Poverty alleviation project funding】 In 2009, Shanghai overcame the impact of international financial crisis and the difficulty in fiscal revenue growth and continued the dynamic growth of aiding fund for the projects in Yunnan in accordance with the requirements of "targeting at the same objects and putting on the same efforts". It planned to invest a total of 160 million Yuan throughout the year, up 10.8%, and actually 180 million Yuan was put in, up 24.6%. 327 projects were launched in Wenshan, Honghe, Puer and Diqing as well as De’ang and Dulong. According to the requirements of “truly love people, do practical work and seek practical results”, the government gave priority to grassroots areas and poor farmers in the allocation of anti-poverty funds and sincerely did practical things for local residents. In 2009, the project funds put in poverty alleviation and development, education, health and livelihood guarantee accounted for 92.7% of the annual aiding funds.

　　Shanghai’s funding for aid projects in Yunnan in 2009

　　（Unit: ten thousand Yuan）

Types	New rural construction	Industrial development	Social undertakings	Total
Wenshan Prefecture	3270	350	550	4170
Honghe Prefecture	2820	460	550	3830
Pu’er City	3000	240	550	3790
Diqing Prefecture	1300	420	1370	3090
De’ang Nationality	400	0	0	400
Dulong Nationality	2000	0	0	2000
Others	150	360	230	740
Total	12940	1830	3250	18020

　　Note: Not including the human resource training project funds provided by Shanghai for Yunnan

　　【Poverty alleviation by entire village advancement】 According to the “Opinions on Jointly Promoting Entire Village Advancement for Poverty Alleviation” issued by 13 ministries and commissions including LGOP, etc, and the spirit of the “Notice on Mobilizing Pairing-off Poverty Reduction System to Support “Three Guarantee” Work” issued by LGOP, from 2009 to 2010, Shanghai increased efforts for the work and began to take responsibility for the poverty reduction of 237 “three guarantee” villages (123 in 2009 and 114 in 2010) in 11 counties, including Malipo, Funing and Maguan of Wenshan Prefecture, Lvchun and Jinping of Honghe Prefecture, Jiangcheng, Menglian, Luancang, Ximeng and Mojiang of Puer City through “one claim, annual implementation and contiguous entire village advancement” according to the principle of “playing a good supporting role, going all out, stock adjustment, increment priority, based on the current situation, combined with long-term plan, focusing on key areas and ensuring high quality". Plus the standardized clinics and standardized central school projects constructed in the “three guarantee” towns supported by preferential policy, Shanghai has invested a total of 110 million Yuan of “three guarantee” funds.

　　Taking jointly promoting “three guarantees” as a primary political responsibility, mainly relying on the overall planning, organization, coordination and support, aiming to “make early project planning, early allocation of funds, early project launch and early results of poverty alleviation”, all parties have strengthened the aid projects’ financial supervision and the monitoring of project progress and quality. While implementing the 2009 projects, some places with certain conditions also made planning for 2010 projects and launched some projects ahead of schedule.

　　【Pilot projects for entire village advancement and contiguous development】 According to the spirit of the 10th joint work conference of the Leading Group for Shanghai-Yunnan Pairing-off Poverty Alleviation and the requirements of “contiguous development” and “pilot projects for whole town advancement” of Yunnan Province, the pilot projects of “whole town planning, entire village advancement, resource integration, contiguous development and industry priority’ were launched in 18 towns of 15 counties in four prefectures of Yunnan Province. In accordance with the requirements of coordinated urban-rural development, with three to five years as a cycle, through in-depth and detailed investigation carried out in the towns, relevant departments have carefully developed the rural integrated economic and social development planning and orderly implemented the industrial development, community building, infrastructure construction, public welfare and other key projects. As a result, the targeted pilot towns had more clear development goals and paths, increased efforts on resource integration and achieved more significant demonstration results.

　　【Investigation of anti-poverty practice】The two sides both take in-depth and detailed investigation as the basis and premise for their cooperation in poverty reduction. To promote project construction and improve the “four basic” conditions of the masses, the two sides’ leaders, cooperation departments, the cadre liaison groups sent by Shanghai to support Yunnan and the cadres at all levels visited the villages and households and successively conducted field research on the pilot projects of entire village advancement in Dulong Nationality of Nujiang Prefecture, De’ang Nationality of Dehong Prefecture, Honghe Prefecture and Pu’er City, covering all the aid project areas in the twinned regions. While implementing the 292 entire village advancement projects, they carefully listened to the public opinions and mobilized the masses to participate in the project construction. The masses decided what to do and how to do in project construction and how to make it effective.

　　【Poverty alleviation for minorities and poverty-stricken groups】For a long time, to meet the requirements of building a harmonious society, combined with the poverty situation in ethnic minority areas in Yunnan, the two sides always give priority to minority areas, border areas and poverty-stricken groups in the pairing-off poverty reduction.

　　1．Poverty reduction results of De’ang Nationality. Since April 2006, Shanghai started the support for De’ang Nationality, mainly supporting the natural villages concentrated with De’ang people in Dehong, Baoshan and Lincang of Yunnan Province through entire village advancement. As of 2009, Shanghai had completed the poverty alleviation in 63 De’ang villages ahead of schedule and put in a total of 28.64 million Yuan of anti-poverty funds. Yunnan Province invested 8.87 million Yuan of matching funds. The infrastructure and production and living conditions of the regions concentrated with De’ang people have been greatly improved, the self-development awareness of the masses has been significantly enhanced, the economic income has been improved steadily, the pace of shaking off poverty and becoming well-to-do has been accelerated and good political and social effects have been made in the pairing-off poverty reduction. Shanghai’s assistance for the development of De’ang Nationality has been regarded as a typical case in strengthening nationality unity and harmonious development in the new era by the State Ethnic Affairs Commission and was awarded by the fifth National Conference in recognition of national unity and progress.

　　On December 15, 2009, the "Forum on Summarizing the Work and Experience of Shanghai in Pairing-off Assistance for De’ang Nationality" jointly sponsored by Shanghai Committee for Ethnic and Religious Affairs and Yunnan Committee for Ethnic and Religious Affairs was convened in Dehong Prefecture. Vice Mayor of Shanghai Hu Yanzhao and Vice Governor of Yunnan Province Kong Chuizhu attended and addressed the event. At the meeting, Shanghai donated project funds of 5 million Yuan for the development of De’ang Nationality in Yunnan Province and added 17 entire village advancement projects in the natural villages of De’ang Nationality. In 2010, it will comprehensively complete the support for development of De’ang Nationality.

　　2．Include Dulong Nationality of Nujiang Prefecture into the objects of poverty alleviation of Shanghai. Dulong Nationality is one of the 22 minorities in China. Dulongjiang Town of Gongshan County in Nujiang Prefecture is a major area concentrated with Dulong people. At the junction of Burma and Yunnan, it covers an area of ​​1,997 square kilometers and has six administrative villages, 41 villagers’ groups and 4,394 people. Dulong people account for 99% of the total population here. Due to the historical, natural and other reasons, the development of Dulong Nationality seriously lags behind and the whole nationality is in poverty and a closed situation.

　　According to the suggestion of Yunnan Province, the major leaders of Yunnan and Shanghai approved to include Dulong Nationality in Dulongjiang Town of Nujiang Prefecture into the objects of Shanghai’s poverty alleviation. On the 11th joint conference of the leading group for Shanghai-Yunnan Pairing-off Poverty Alleviation held on December 18, 2009, vice secretary of Yunnan Provincial Party Committee Li Jiheng and Deputy Mayor of Shanghai Hu Yanzhao signed the “Agreement on the Participation of Shanghai in Accelerating the Development of Dulong Nationality of Dulongjinag Town, Nujiang Prefecture of Yunnan Province” and Shanghai donated 20 million Yuan of anti-poverty funds to Yunnan for the new rural construction in Dulongjiang Town, mainly aiming to improve the “four basic” conditions of Dulong people and enhance the self-development ability of local residents. Specific projects will be implemented through the minority helping mechanism established by the two sides’ committees for ethnic and religious affairs.

3. Relocation of Mang People in Leigongdaniu Village of Jinping. In early 2008, Shanghai participated in the joint investigation and research organized by the ministries and agreed to implement the relocation project of Mang People in Leigongdaniu Village of Jinping County, Honghe Prefecture of Yunnan Province. On May 8, 2008, Regional Cooperation and Exchange Office of Shanghai Municipal Government signed with Honghe Prefecture and Jinping County the "Meeting Minutes of the Conference on Shanghai’s Aid Project of Relocation of Leigongdaniu Village, Jinping County, Honghe Prefecture of Yunnan and the Community Construction in Niuchangping Resettlement Spot". Shanghai increased anti-poverty funds of 6 million Yuan, built 50 safe houses, 120 square meters for each; and constructed village-level roads, related landscape projects, cultural activity rooms and the “three matching projects”: biogas digesters, livestock stables and toilets. In June 2009, the community building in Niuchangping was completed and 43 families, involving 195 people, moved into new houses.

　　【Poverty reduction of special groups】More priority was given to the development of Diqing Tibet area. Shanghai always gives priority to Diqing Tibet area in the allocation of aiding funds, especially in the allocation of prefecture-level anti-poverty projects, making a contribution to the rapid, stable development of Diqing Tibet area and the building of the best Tibet area in China. According to the planning of LGOP and Yunnan on comprehensive poverty alleviation and development of Bo People, Shanghai selected nine of the 44 natural villages concentrated by Bo people to support jointly with Songjiang District government. Through joint efforts, they continued to implement the state’s policies and did a good job in helping the returned overseas Chinese in Funing of Wenshan and Yanshan as well as other overseas farms (forest farms).

　　【Poverty alleviation by industrialization】Always adhere to the development-oriented poverty reduction policy. Combining "blood transfusion" and "blood making", it focuses on improving the comprehensive quality and enhancing the self-development ability of the poor and strives to create conditions and integrate resources to support the development of featured industries in rural areas.

　　1．Continue to increase investment in industrial poverty alleviation. Besides taking some of the entire village advancement funds for production development, in recent years, through whole town planning and pilot projects for industrial development, Shanghai began to explore the way of fostering rural leaders for becoming rich in the twinned regions and the pattern for achieving rural collective economy, and constantly increased support for industrial poverty alleviation. In 2009, it allocated anti-poverty funds of 18.3 million Yuan to implement 42 featured farming and breeding projects. Good results have been made in the industrial projects, including banana and rubber growing in Honghe Prefecture, pseudo-ginseng and hot pepper processing bases and happy farmhouse business of Wenshan Prefecture, coffee and sericulture bases in Puer City, Nixi chicken and pig raising in Diqing Prefecture, etc., forming a number of featured villages. It has enhanced the self-development ability of local rural families and promoted the construction of featured industrial zones, industrial parks and large-scale breeding bases.

　　2．Support the twinned regions to develop Shanghai market for their featured agricultural products. Through government leadership and contacting as well as lowering the threshold by issuing preferential policies and fund subsidies, steady progress has been made in helping the twinned regions to develop Shanghai market for their featured agricultural products. Honghe and Diqing carried out featured farm produce exhibition activities in Shanghai. Eight agricultural products businesses and cooperatives, including Mengsheng Guava and Qizi Tea, were allowed to enter Shanghai Songjiang International Food City free of charge. With the support from Guangming Group and Bailian Group of Shanghai Central Farm Produce Wholesale Market, Shanghai Jiangqiao Vegetable Wholesale Market, Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce and State-owned Assets Supervision & Administration Commission of Shanghai Municipal Government, agricultural products of Yunnan have poured into Shanghai supermarkets, marketing places and the homes of ordinary people.

　　3．Establish and improve the long-term mechanism for industrial poverty alleviation. It changed the practice of one-time use of the industrial aiding funds and established a long-term mechanism for the "long-term rolling use and long-term benefits" of anti-poverty funds. In the implementation of entire village advancement projects, the production development funds are issued to poor farmers in form of seed and seedling subsidies based on the generalized system of preferences (GSP). In poverty alleviation by industrial development, the funds are given to major farming and breeding households, rich leaders, farmers’ cooperatives and leading agricultural product enterprises in form of loans, which must be repaid with interests based on the agricultural production cycle, achieving the goal of “promoting the development of a large area through supporting the models”. In order to ensure the "clear rights and responsibilities, scientific management and orderly operation" of the industrial development funds, the two sides formulated and issued the "Interim Measures on the Management of Industrial Development Funds of Shanghai and Yunnan" and the regulations on supporting agricultural products to develop Shanghai market and are constantly exploring effective mechanisms to promote the virtuous circle of industrial development.

　　【Social poverty alleviation】 Based on local needs and the advantages of Shanghai, the government continued the good tradition and good practices welcomed by local residents in the past and arranged 59 social construction projects in 2009. 

　　1．Poverty alleviation through development of education and health industry. Shanghai invested 20 million Yuan of special funds to independently support the construction of the largest Diqing Prefecture Shangri-La High School and put it into operation; invested 2 million Yuan and 1 million Yuan respectively for the construction of standardized central schools and standardized hospitals in the four prefectures, and relevant departments of Yunnan issued the matching funds. Yunnan University established interschool cooperation mechanisms for cooperation with Fudan University and Shanghai University, and the twinning relationships between vocational schools and schools and enterprises witnessed smooth development. A new batch of 100 teachers of Shanghai went to Yunnan to support local education; the medical agencies were twinned with each other and the big hospitals of Shanghai were twinned with the regional secondary hospitals to carry out effective cooperation with them in hospital management, academic exchanges, personnel training, prevention and control of influenza H1N1, etc. Shanghai’s aiding projects Wenshan Animal Disease Prevention and Control Center, Honghe Prefecture Comprehensive Technology Testing Center, Pu’er Tea Quality Monitoring and Inspection Center and Diqing Prefecture Pollution-free Agricultural Product Testing Center have been successively completed.

　　2．Poverty alleviation through human resource development. Shanghai No. 6 batch of cadres sent to support Yunnan came back and the seventh batch of cadres were sent there to take over the work. The exchange of cadres between the two has been expanded to three levels: provinces, counties and departments, including 45 sending cadres. Adhering to the principle of "effectiveness, usefulness, efficiency", they launched four "100" training projects and other human resources development programs. Through training in Shanghai, local trainings and arranging experts of Shanghai to give lectures, they have trained more than 8800 people, including cadres for new rural construction, coordinated urban-rural development and minorities, rural leaders in getting rich, agricultural agents and backbone primary and secondary school teachers, and organized labor transfer for more than 30,000 person-times.

　　3．Poverty alleviation by social forces. The relevant corporations and mass organizations cooperated with each other and 154 young volunteers of Shanghai and a number of doctors, backbone agricultural technical persons, doctor groups and silver age action experts went to Yunnan to carry out short-term intelligent support. Through the civil administration system, Project Hope, Glorious Cause and charity organizations, throughout the whole year, Shanghai donated more than 5 million Yuan of funds and 200,000 pieces of clothing to Yunnan. The private enterprises and NGOs were more active in supporting education.

　　【Economic and technical cooperation】In 2009, the enterprises of both sides carried out 75 economic cooperation projects and Shanghai invested 1.93 billion Yuan of funds for the cooperation.

　　1．Guide enterprises to attend the fairs. Liu Yungeng, chairman of the Standing Committee of the Shanghai Municipal People's Congress, headed a delegation to attend the Kunming Import and Export Fair, the companies and industry associations of both sides actively and enthusiastically participated in East China Import and Export Fair, Shanghai International Tourism Trade Fair and Shanghai International Agricultural Exhibition and achieved goods results. Shanghai and Yunnan, for the first time, held the Special Promotion Conference on Bio-industry Cooperation Projects in Yunnan and more than 400 entrepreneurs attended the events and signed 15 cooperation projects worth 1.19 billion Yuan. Honghe Prefecture held the Dissemination Week Activity in Shanghai in October, covering the investment project promotion conference, tourism promotion meeting, folk dance performances, agricultural fairs, etc, which was praised by Shanghai people and foreign tourists. On the promotion conferences, they signed three tourism cooperation agreements and eight specialty products supply agreements worth 350 million Yuan.

　　2．Technology cooperation between two sides. The science and technology departments of the two sides held in Kunming the "Yunnan-Shanghai Scientific and Technological Achievement Cooperation Fair" and established "Shanghai - Yunnan technology transfer bases" in Kunming, Wenshan, etc. Shanghai Science and Technology Commission included Wenshan, Honghe, Pu’er and Xishuangbanna of Yunnan into the subsidized objects of a few research projects. As for the cooperation in agricultural science and technology, Mojiang County’s sericulture production technology promotion, Guangnan County’s south early-maturing pear industrialization management model and Wenshan high-yield strawberry demonstration projects brought real benefits to local farmers.

　　3．Strategic cooperation between the enterprises of the two sides. In August 2009, Shanghai Guangming Group invested 800 million Yuan to acquire 60% stake of Yunnan Yingmao Sugar Co., Ltd, which is the largest downstream acquisition of upstream. On December 15, the grand opening ceremony of the New Grinding Season was held in Jinghan Sugar Factory, Longchuan County of Dehong Prefecture. Shanghai Vice Mayor Hu Yanzhao and Vice Governor of Yunnan Province Kong Chuizhu attended the event. It marked the start of the strategic cooperation in sugar industry between Shanghai and Yunnan and became another successful case for the economic cooperation between the two.

　　In 2009, SAIC Huizhong Commercial Vehicle Company successfully won the bid of the "township hospital ambulance" project of Yunnan Provincial Health Department and signed the contract for the procurement of the first batch of 87 ambulances.

　　4．Shanghai entrepreneurs’ field survey in Yunnan. From August 30 to September 3, 2009, the cooperation departments, associations of industry and commerce and relevant prefectures and cities jointly organized the Shanghai delegation of entrepreneurs to conduct field researches in Kunming, Pu’er, Xishuangbanna and Lijiang of Yunnan. According to the docking needs of the twinned regions, Shanghai selected nine enterprises to conduct the field research including Shanghai Sinnsa Group Co., Ltd and Shanghai Zhisheng Industrial Group, covering park development, integrated investment, architectural design, modern agriculture, textiles, clothing, new energy and high technology, property management and other industries. Shanghai’s private entrepreneurs visited the investment environment and key investment project in relevant prefectures and cities, directly negotiated with the entrepreneurs of Yunnan and reached cooperative intent for a number of projects. During the visits, the entrepreneurs also visited poor farmers and donated 850,000 Yuan to the Glorious Cause of Yunnan Province to support the building of Hope Primary Schools and the implementation of entire village advancement in impoverished villages.

　　【The 11th Shanghai-Yunnan joint cooperation on pairing-off poverty alleviation】The 11th Shanghai-Yunnan joint cooperation on pairing-off poverty alleviation was held in Kunming on December 18, 2009. Hu Yanzhao, Vice Mayor of Shanghai and the Deputy Head of the Leading Group for Cooperation and Exchanges and Pairing-off Poverty Alleviation, headed a delegation to attend the event. Li Jiheng, Vice Secretary of Yunnan CPC Committee and the Head of the Leading Group for Shanghai-Yunnan Pairing-off Poverty Alleviation, and Kong Chuizhu, Vice Governor of Yunnan Province and the Deputy Head of the Leading Group for Shanghai-Yunnan Pairing-off Poverty Alleviation, as well as the principals of relevant departments attended the event. Li Jiheng and Hu Yanzhao respectively delivered an important speech.

　　The meeting reviewed Shanghai-Yunnan pairing-off poverty alleviation work in 2009 and clarified the overall ideology and work priorities for the cooperation in 2010. According to the spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 17th Central Committee of CPC and the Fifth National Conference in recognition of national unity and progress, the two sides agreed to include Dulong Nationality in Dulongjiang Town of Nujiang Prefecture into the objects of Shanghai’s poverty alleviation and signed the “Minutes of the 11th Joint Meeting of the Leading Group for Shanghai-Yunnan Pairing-off Poverty Alleviation Cooperation” and the “Agreement on the Participation of Shanghai in Accelerating the Development of Dulong Nationality of Dulongjinag Town, Nujiang Prefecture of Yunnan Province”. 15 cooperation departments between Shanghai and Yunnan, including education, health, agricultural and tourism industry signed the Momorandum of Understanding for the pairing-off cooperation in 2010. On the meeting, Shanghai donated 20 million Yuan of funds to Yunnan Province for the new rural construction of Dulong Town.

　　During the meeting, Hu Yanzhao and Kong Chuizhu also attended the "Forum on Summarizing the Work and Experience of Shanghai in Pairing-off Assistance for De’ang Nationality" jointly sponsored by Shanghai Committee for Ethnic and Religious Affairs and Yunnan Committee for Ethnic and Religious Affairs in Luxi City of Dehong Prefecture. Shanghai donated 5 million Yuan of funds for the development of De’ang in 2010.

　　（Liu Jun, Regional Cooperation and Exchange Office of Shanghai Municipal Government）