Zhuhai – Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture Pairing-off Poverty Alleviation

　　【Overview】 Zhuhai is one of the oldest special economic zones of China. At the important historical moment of the 30th anniversary of China’s reform and opening up, the state approved the implementation of the “Outline for the Reform and Development of Pearl River Delta”, demanded Pearl River Delta to implement “pilot projects for scientific development” and strive to grow into a new ecological civilized special economic zone and a demonstration city for scientific development and achieve a stride leap in development. As a special economic zone benefiting from the state’s reform and opening up policy and getting rich first with support from all Chinese people, Zhuhai should assume the mission and task of poverty alleviation and development assigned by the state and Guangdong Province, shoulder heavier duties for national and provincial poverty alleviation and development and make a greater contribution to poverty reduction.

　　In 2002, Zhuhai was designated to provide counterpart support for Wushan, Wuxi and Fengjie County of Chongqing in poverty reduction. On June 18, 2010, the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development issued the “Notice on Adjusting Zhuhai’s Targets of Counterpart Support in East-West Pairing-off Cooperation for Poverty Reduction” (Guo Kai Ban Fa [2010] No. 63) and changed the poverty relief targets of Zhuhai from Chongqing to Sichuan’s Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture. Zhuhai Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government attached great importance to the work. Vice Mayor and Deputy Head of the Municipal Leading Group for Poverty Alleviation Jin Zhanyang and Director of the Municipal Poverty Alleviation Office Chen Zhenyi respectively headed a delegation to conduct field research in Liangshan Prefecture to jointly create train of thoughts for the pairing-off poverty alleviation.

　　Zhuhai Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government attached great importance to the pairing-off cooperation for poverty reduction. The Municipal Leading Group for Poverty Alleviation held a few meetings to convey the deployment of the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development on the east-west pairing-off cooperation for poverty reduction, summarized Zhuhai’s counterpart support for Wushan, Wuxi and Fengjie County, made deployments for the counterpart assistance for Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan Province, put forward the work ideas for the work at the next stage and studied the difficulties and problems in the twinning poverty alleviation. Through unifying the thinking to reach consensus, it clarified that counterpart support is a major strategic policy to promote common prosperity and the construction of a harmonious society and is a long-term work necessary for thoroughly implementation of the scientific concept of development. It put forward that we must establish the strategic thinking for counterpart support according to the requirements of the central government and the State Council and overcome difficulties to do a good job of pairing-off cooperation for poverty reduction.

　　【Leader visit  mechanism】Since 2010, Zhuhai municipal government has sent 21 leaders to conduct field research in Sichuan and Liangshan Prefecture for east-west pairing-off cooperation in poverty reduction. Member of Standing Committee of CPC Sichuan Provincial Committee and Vice Governor Zhong Mian and Secretary of Liangshan Prefecture Party Committee Zhai Zhan headed a delegation of 23 members to negotiate with Zhuhai about the pairing-off cooperation in poverty reduction. The two sides enhanced communications, jointly planned for east-west pairing-off poverty alleviation and reached consensus. They jointly studied how to do a good job in the future and how to implement the deployments of the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development under the new situation and, through communications and exchanges of ideas, the two sides enhanced mutual understanding and support and further unified the thinking to promote the cooperation for poverty alleviation.

　　【Docking of east-west pairing-off cooperation for poverty reduction】 On June 18, 2010, the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development issued the “Notice on Adjusting Zhuhai’s Targets of Counterpart Support in East-West Pairing-off Cooperation for Poverty Reduction” (Guo Kai Ban Fa [2010] No. 63). From August 3 to 5, Vice Mayor Jin Zhanyang headed a delegation to visit Sichuan and Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture for communications on the pairing-off cooperation in poverty reduction. Vice Secretary-General of Sichuan Provincial Government Zhao Xueqian, Director of Sichuan Provincial Bureau of Poverty Alleviation and Immigration He Daqing and relevant leaders of Liangshan Prefecture attended the event. From August 17 to 26, 2010, Zhuhai Poverty Alleviation Office Director Chen Zhenyi headed a delegation to conduct field survey on east-west pairing-off poverty reduction in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan Province, accompanied by Vice Mayor of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture Dajiu Mujia, Director of Sichuan Provincial Bureau of Poverty Alleviation and Immigration Yang Banghua and Director of Liangshan Prefecture Poverty Alleviation Office Ma Xiaolin, etc. The delegation visited six national key counties for poverty reduction in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, namely Zhaojue, Butuo, Meigu, Xide, Puge and Jinyang County. Through conducting field visits and research and holding talks, Zhuhai City and Liangshan Prefecture reached a consensus on the east-west pairing-off cooperation for poverty reduction. According to the principle of trying our best within our abilities, based on the actual situation of Zhuhai, the two sides established the work idea of government leadership and public participation to strengthen personnel and cultural exchanges and enhance economic and trade cooperation. To promote the large-scale poverty reduction by pilot areas, they selected Meigu and Puge County as pilot areas to gradually implement poverty relief projects and integrated the two cities’ resources to carry out poverty-relief cooperation.

　　【Field survey in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture】 Located in the southwest part of Sichuan Province, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture has 16 counties and one city, including 11 key counties for national poverty alleviation and development. It has 14 minority nationalities including Yi, Han, Tibet and Hui, etc, and has a population of 4.73 million, of which 2.31 million are Yi people, accounting for 48.8% of the total. It is the largest Yi residential area in China and is the most populous ethnic minority area in Sichuan Province. In the 11 key counties for poverty alleviation and development, for example, in 2009, the GDP was 17.015 billion Yuan, accounting for 27.13% of the total of 17 counties (cities) in the prefecture; general budget revenue was 1.511 billion Yuan, accounting for only 21.10% of the total, including local general budget revenue of 1.02 billion Yuan, accounting for 20.86% of the total; and rural per capita net income was 2835.50 Yuan, accounting for only 71.60% of the average in the prefecture. With poor conditions and complex topography, prone to natural disasters, Liangshan Prefecture has backward infrastructure and harsh living conditions featured shortage of public services, and has prominent phenomenon of contiguous poverty. The quality of labors is rather low and the situation of anti-drug and AIDS prevention is serious.