The “Outline for Development-oriented Poverty Reduction in China's Rural Areas (2011-2020)”

　　This outline is formulated to further accelerate the development of poor areas and promote common prosperity so as to achieve the goal of building a well-off society in an all-round way by 2020.

　　Foreword

1. Great achievements have been made in poverty reduction. Poverty elimination and common prosperity are essential requirements of socialism. Since Reform and Opening-up, China’s development-oriented poverty reduction program has vigorously advanced. In particular, since the implementation of the Seven-year Priority Poverty Reduction Program (1994-2000) and the Outline for Development-oriented Poverty Reduction Program for China's Rural Areas (2001-2010), poverty alleviation efforts have made great headway, as evidenced by a reduction in the size of the poor rural population, steady increases in income levels, improvements to rural infrastructure and social services, a well-established subsistence allowance system, and ensured adequate food and clothing for rural residents. A distinct path for poverty reduction has been explored, which has played a significant role in promoting economic progress, political stability, ethnic unity, border consolidation and social harmony, thus making great contributions to global efforts in poverty reduction.

2. Development-oriented poverty reduction is a long-term mission. China is still at the primary stage of socialism and will remain so for a long time. The country features a relatively low level of economic and social development, noticeable imbalances in regional development and deep-seated rural development bottlenecks. Rural China is plagued by the continued impoverishment of numerous residents, comparative deprivation, and frequent cases of falling back into poverty. The presence of underdeveloped areas that lie in contiguous poor areas with special difficulties renders the mission to reduce poverty particularly difficult.

　　In the meantime, China’s industrialization, informatization, urbanization, marketization and internationalization are gaining momentum. Its economic development pattern is transforming at a faster pace, national economic development remains stable and relatively fast, overall national strength is remarkably enhanced, and social security schemes are becoming better established, creating a favorable environment for development-oriented poverty reduction efforts. Now that we have basically ensured peoples’ livelihoods, we should consolidate our accomplishments, help people get well-off quicker, improve the ecological environment, and enhance development capacity and narrow development gap.

3. It is of great significance to further stimulate development-oriented poverty reduction. Development-oriented poverty reduction programming is critical to the consolidation of the basis for governance, the maintenance of political and social stability, and the advancement of the drive towards socialist modernization. Further facilitation of development-oriented poverty reduction is an important task for the building of socialism with Chinese characteristics, an inevitable requirement for implementation of Scientific Outlook on Development and reflects an administrative mentality that puts people first. Such programming is also a key measure for achieving integrated urban and rural development, improving peoples’ livelihoods, bridging of development gaps, and enabling all people to enjoy the fruits of Reform and Opening Up. It is urgently needed for the overall development of a well-off society and harmonious socialist society. We should therefore better position ourselves for a new round of strenuous efforts with greater determination and enhanced effectiveness so as to ensure all-round prosperity for all Chinese people.

　　I. Overall Demand

4. Guiding ideology

　　China’s development oriented poverty reduction programme operates under the guidance of socialism with Chinese characteristics, Deng Xiaoping Theory, the important thought of “Three Represents” and the Scientific Outlook on Development. Under this ideology, the government’s priorities include raising the standard of poverty alleviation, making the contiguous poor areas with special difficulties the key target areas, and improving access to food and clothing and helping people escape poverty more quickly. The government will continue to play a leading role in striking a balanced development, transforming patterns of economic development, improving comprehensive quality of the people, achieving an equal distribution of basic public services, tackling acute problems that restrict development, and striving for better and faster development.

5. Guiding principles

　　Guiding principles of the country’s approach to development oriented poverty alleviation include:

　　·         Adherence to the policy of development-oriented poverty reduction;

　　·         Connecting a development-oriented approach with a subsistence allowance system;

　　·         Making development-oriented poverty reduction program the main channel for shaking off poverty;

　　·         Encouraging and supporting able-bodied poor people to escape poverty through their own efforts;

　　·         Making the social security network the basic means to ensure subsistence and improve this network gradually.

6. Basic principles

　　·         Governments at all levels will take a leading role and shoulder responsibilities. All levels of government are responsible for development-oriented poverty reduction programming in their respective administrative regions. Government will incorporate development-oriented poverty reduction programming into their economic and social development strategies and overall planning, and will introduce the target responsibility system as well as the assessment and evaluation system.

　　·         Guidance will be given to key areas belonging to different categories. The central government will give significant support to contiguous areas with special difficulties, old revolutionary bases, ethnic minority areas and border areas. It will make poverty alleviation policies according to economic and social development level of different areas, and adopt differentiated support measures accordingly.

　　·         Inter-departmental coordination and promotion will be prioritized. Relevant departments should, in line with the national development-oriented poverty reduction strategy, favor poor areas while making polices, formulating plans, allocating funds and arranging projects, so as to form synergies in poverty reduction.

　　·         Self-dependence and hard work will be emphasized. The state shall enhance its guidance and renew its mindset, giving full play to the initiative and creativity of poor areas and poor people. It will show respect to recipients of assistance and improve poor peoples’ capacity for self-management and development, helping them get rid of poverty independently.

　　·         Social involvement will contribute to common prosperity. The state shall mobilize and engage all sectors of society and expand areas of social cooperation in order to raise the standard and ensure the effectiveness of poverty reduction programming. It should also reinforce policy measures and encourage rich people to help their fellow citizens achieve common prosperity.

　　·         Overall plans will be made for the realization of scientific development. Development-oriented poverty reduction will be combined with an urbanization drive, the development of a new socialist countryside and with ecological construction and environmental protection. The state will give full play to the advantageous resources of poor areas while developing environmentally friendly industries and enhancing disaster prevention and mitigation capacity. It will advocate a wholesome and scientific way of life, promoting development that balances economic and social progress with considerations of population, resources and the environment.

　　·         Further reform, innovation and opening up will be promoted. Adjusting to the demands of a socialist market economy, the government will innovate mechanisms of poverty reduction, open up wider domestically and internationally. China will share its poverty reduction experiences and resources, optimize its work in experimental poverty reduction areas, and actively blaze a new trail in poverty reduction.

　　II. Objectives and missions

7. General objectives

　　By 2020, adequate food and clothing, compulsory education, basic medical care and housing will be available to poor population; the per capita net income growth rate of poor peasants will be higher than national average, leading indicators of basic public services will be close to the national average, and the widening development gap will be bridged over time.

8. Key tasks

　　·         Basic farmland, irrigation and water conservation: By 2015, basic farmland and water conservation facilities in poverty-stricken areas will be greatly improved to ensure per-capita farmland for grain-growing. By 2020, quality of farmland infrastructure will be improved.

　　·         Specialty and competitive industries: By 2015, the state will make every household benefit from at least one project designed to increase incomes. By 2020, a specialty and pillar industry system will be put in place.

　　·         Drinking water safety: By 2015, a basic level of access to safe drinking water in poor rural areas will be guaranteed. By 2020, drinking water safety and tap water coverage rate will be further enhanced.

　　·         Electricity for production and residential use: By 2015, the state will ensure access to electricity in poor villages and will dramatically reduce the proportion of the population without access to electricity in remote Western areas and ethnic minority areas. By 2020, electricity will become accessible for all residents.

　　·         Transportation: By 2015, the percentage of poor counties accessible by secondary road, or roads with higher quality, will be increased. Asphalted (cemented) roads will be built in 80% of administrative villages in Western areas (except those in Tibet) and bus accessibility rates in poverty-stricken areas will be raised. By 2020, asphalted (cemented) roads will be constructed to reach administrative villages based on feasibility, upgraded and hardened roads will be built inside the villages, and regular coaches/buses will be made available in every village. The government will improve the level of rural road services and the disaster prevention and relief abilities of the road administrative system.

　　·         Renovation of dilapidated houses in rural areas: By 2015, 8 million dilapidated houses belonging to poor rural households will be rebuilt. By 2020, the living conditions of poor rural residents will be markedly improved.

　　·         Education: By 2015, the gross enrollment rate at the kindergarten level in rural areas will be raised significantly; the gross enrollment rate at the high school level will reach 80%; the scale of ordinary high school and secondary vocational school enrollment will be kept at a similar level. The state will improve the quality of practical agro-techniques and focus on providing technical skills and practical agricultural techniques training for the labor force from poor rural families in order to improve their ability to find better-paying jobs. Illiteracy among middle-aged people will also be eliminated. By 2020, pre-school education will be popularized, the level of compulsory education will be further enhanced, senior high school education will be made accessible to everyone, distance-learning and community education will be accelerated.

　　·         Medical care and public health: By 2015, a medical care network on the county, township and village levels will be put in place; the quality of county-level hospitals will be evidently enhanced. There will be hospitals in every town and clinics in every village; the participation rate of villagers in the New Rural Cooperative Medical System will be stabilized at above 90%, outpatient services will be available to almost everyone. The government will secure treatment for children with critical illnesses, keep major infectious and endemic diseases under control, and ensure that every town has a general practitioner. By 2020, access to public health and basic medical care of poor rural residents will be more equal.

　　·         Public culture: By 2015, radio, film and television service systems will be established, realizing total coverage in natural villages with less than 20 inhabitants and with access to electricity. The government will make radio and television available to almost every household and equip every county with one digital theater. Every administrative village will put on at least one digital movie every month. Broadband will be accessible in every administrative village and communication signals will accessible in natural villages and along roads. By 2020, the government will further improve radio, film and television service systems; ensuring radio and television services are available in every household and broadband in every natural village. It will also promote a rural public culture service system whereby every key county in the national development-oriented poverty reduction program (hereinafter referred to as key county) will set up a library, every town a comprehensive culture center and every administrative village an entertainment room. Public culture development will be utilized to foster a culture of clean government.

　　·         Social security: By 2015, the subsistence allowance system, the “five guarantees” life-support system and the temporary relief system in rural China will be further improved. The new rural social endowment insurance system will be popularized. By 2020, social security service levels will be further upgraded.

　　·         Population and family planning: By 2015, the natural growth rate of population in key counties will be kept under 8‰ and the total fertility rate at about 1.8. By 2020, the low birthrate in key counties will be further stabilized, so as to realize balanced population growth.

　　·         Forestry and ecology: By 2015, forest acreage will be 1.5 percentage points more than that of the end of 2010. By 2020, forest acreage will be 3.5 percentage points more than that of the end of 2010.

　　III. Target Scope

9. Targeting in poverty reduction programming

　　Able-bodied rural residents whose incomes are below the poverty line are targets for poverty reduction programming. The government will establish and improve identification mechanisms, build up archives and manage them dynamically so as to ensure effective support for the target population. It will also raise the poverty line gradually. Provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the central government should determine their own poverty line according to their respective conditions.

10. Contiguous areas with special difficulties

　　Key destitute areas that will be mainly supported by the government include contiguous poor areas like the Liupan Mountain area, the Qinba Mountain area, the Wulin Mountain area, the Wumeng Mountain area; rocky desertification areas in Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi provinces; mountainous border areas in Western Yunnan, the south of the Greater Khingan Mountains, the Yanshan Mountain-Taihang Mountain area, the Luliang Mountain area, the Dabie Mountain area, and the Luoxiao Mountain area; as well as Tibet, Tibetan ethnic areas in Sichuan, Yunnan, Gansu and Qinghai provinces and Kashgar, Hotan and Kezilesu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture of Xinjiang. The government will channel more resources to those identified regions, step up trans- provincial guidance and coordination, pool the strengths of different parts of government and launch appropriate projects sequentially.

　　Provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government will be responsible for helping contiguous destitute areas. Guided by the central government, local governments will design and implement county-based poverty reduction projects. Departments of the State Council and local governments at all levels should facilitate better coordination and carry out a series of welfare projects covering education, health, culture, employment and social security. They will also cultivate and strengthen specialty and competitive industries, expedite the development of important regional infrastructure, enhance ecological and environmental protection, tackle bottlenecks that restrain development, promote the equalization of basic public services, and put an end to the backwardness of poor areas. Provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government can designate contiguous areas with special difficulties independently and target their intensified support to those areas.

11. Key counties and poor villages

　　The state will also give considerable support to key counties and poor villages that are outside areas that lie in contiguous stretches. The support policy for originally-identified key counties remains unchanged. However, provinces (as well as autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government) should design and adopt various measures in line with their actual conditions to gradually reduce the number of key counties. The previous level of government support will remain unchanged in cases in which counties develop from key counties into normal counties.

　　IV. Special Poverty Reduction Programs

12. Relocating impoverished populations from environmentally-unfriendly areas

　　The government will relocate impoverished populations from areas with harsh living conditions on a voluntary basis. It will guide other relocation programs to be implemented in eligible poor areas first, making links where relevant with voluntary relocation programs, so as to foster a favorable production and living environment for the poor. While making relocation plans, the state should take into account resource conditions in those areas and implement relocation in an orderly way in order to improve living and development conditions, and foster development of follow-up industries. Meanwhile, if possible, poor residents should be relocated to small and medium-sized towns and industrial parks. In this way, they will find more job opportunities and their employability will be enhanced. The state will improve its coordination function; solving difficulties and problems during relocation, including concerns regarding production or livelihoods, in order to ensure settlement, stability, development and prosperity.

13. Implementing a comprehensive development-oriented poverty reduction program in villages

　　In line with the drive to develop a new socialist countryside, the state will formulate comprehensive and bottom-up poverty reduction plans and carry out those plans in stages. It will develop specialty and pillar industries, improve production and living conditions, increase collective income, and boost the capacity of impoverished villages to contribute to their own development. The government will take counties as the platform for pooling agriculture-related capital and social resources. It will also initiate the project of ensuring water, electricity, road, gas, housing and environmental improvements for rural families and build good welfare facilities in rural communities. It will strengthen follow-up management, improve the new community management and service mechanism, and consolidate development-oriented poverty reduction achievements. In locations in which there is a high percentage of poor villages, comprehensive programming can be conducted in townships that lie contiguous stretches.  

14. Implementing work relief

　　The work-relief policy will be further implemented in rural areas to improve quality of farmland (grassland) and increase irrigated area. The state will build roads in counties, townships and villages; develop drinking water projects for the people and livestock, stimulate basic farmland and grassland construction, and initiate comprehensive improvement of small river basins. The ability to fight against natural disasters and the foundation of development will be further reinforced.

15. Promoting poverty reduction with industrialization

　　The government will promote utilization of advanced and practical agro-techniques, nurture specialty and pillar industries, and advance tourism-backed poverty reduction programs. While doing so, it will give full play to the ecological environment and natural resource advantages of poverty-stricken areas. It will endeavor to promote industrial restructuring; help poor households develop production through leading enterprises, farmers’ specialty cooperatives and mutual fund organizations; and guide and encourage enterprises to invest in poor areas so as to help poor rural households increase their income.

16. Poverty reduction through employment

　　The Dew Program will be improved. Aiming at the stable employment of assistance recipients, the government will provide pre-job training to junior high and senior high school graduates who are economically unable to continue their study, and will subsidize a certain amount of their living expenses. The government will also subsidize the new labor force of poor rural families with support for living expenses and transportation fees if they are to receive secondary vocational education. It will provide the poor rural labor force with practical techniques training and give more support to disabled poor rural residents.

17. Pilot projects of poverty reduction in special areas

　　Targeting special conditions and problems, the government will develop appropriate new development-oriented poverty reduction mechanisms and carry out poverty reduction work in border areas. It will combine prevention and treatment of endemic diseases with development-oriented poverty reduction program, rebuild disaster-stricken areas and start pilot projects in other destitute areas and groups. It will also expand experimental areas that are supported by mutual aid funds, contiguous development approaches, the welfare lottery and the use of science and technology.

18. Development of old revolutionary bases

　　The state will offer special support to old revolutionary bases in poverty-stricken areas.

　　V. Poverty Reduction by Industries

19. Defining departmental responsibilities

　　All sectors should take the improvement of the environment for development and the condition of poor areas as important elements in the formation of industrial development plans. They should favor poverty-stricken areas in terms of capital and project investment so as to complete designated poverty-relief tasks.

20. Developing specialty industry

　　The state will strengthen its guidance of the agricultural, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery industries, develop various kinds of specialty cooperatives, and improve the system of social service provision in rural areas. Centering on the concepts of ‘leading products’, ‘famous products’ and ‘competitive products’, the state will give strong support to the wholesale market and the border trade market. In line with the planning of development priority zones, the government will develop local resources reasonably, stimulate emerging industries, undertake industrial transfer, adjust industrial structure, and enhance the internal development impetus of poverty-stricken areas.

21. Poverty reduction with science and technology

　　The government will actively promote fine seed strains and farming methods. Centering on specialty industrial development, the state will scale up efforts to advance science and technology and their application as well as to promote industrial upgrading and structural optimization. A batch of leading science-based poverty reduction enterprises will be fostered. New science and technology service systems that fit the actual situation of poor areas will be built and improved. Efforts to develop demonstration villages and households will be intensified. The government will continue to dispatch science and technology teams composed of experts and, as relevant, deputy heads of counties, cities, villages, or towns, to work in key counties.

22. Improving infrastructure

　　The state will launch land reclamation projects in poverty-stricken areas, accelerate transformation of mid- and low-yield fields, conduct land leveling, and enhance farmland quality. It will continue to do follow-up work in large and medium-sized irrigated areas, develop water-saving project and small-sized farmland water conservancy projects, and support the construction of small or micro-sized water conservancy facilities. It will also reinforce large and medium-sized reservoirs and key dangerous small reservoirs, renovate irrigation and drainage pumping stations, enhance protection and treatment of small rivers, prevent mountain torrents and geological disasters, and improve the condition of water and soil. The state will also launch safe drinking water projects in rural China, settle more nomads in pasture areas, speed up construction of roads in towns and villages, and enhance delivery and logistics channels in rural areas. Projects to promote electrification in new rural areas, hydropower-for-fuel projects and power grid upgrade projects will all be initiated. Electricity will be priced at the same level for rural and urban residents. Information services will be popularized, with priority given to key counties in ensuring cable TV, telephone and internet links. Postal service network construction will be speeded up, so as to integrate networks for telecommunication, broadcast television and internet.

23. Developing educational and cultural undertakings in poverty-stricken areas

　　The state will encourage concentrated school management, build more boarding schools, offer intensified support to pre-school education in poor remote areas, and gradually increase subsidy standard for boarders from poor rural families. It will also exempt students from poor families and students who major in agriculture in secondary vocational schools from payment of tuition fees, and continue to implement the state student subsidy. Mandarin language and characters will be popularized in ethnic areas. Better nutritional food will be given to school students in rural areas. Special education will be given special attention and assistance for handicapped students will be strengthened. The state will continue to carry out the one-on-one help plan whereby Eastern areas help Central and Western China develop schools of higher learning and enroll qualified high school graduates. Laborers from poor areas should receive pre-job training organized by their native places and work places. The state will implement a series of projects enabling radio and TV access, film screenings, and cultural information sharing and community library availability. Cultural team-building at grass-roots level will be strengthened.

24. Improving public health and population service management

　　The government will improve the security level provided by the New Rural Cooperative Medical Care and Medical Assistance systems, while strengthen health systems and service delivery in poor areas. It will ensure better medical and rehabilitation service facilities, facilitate institutional capacity development of maternal and child health care centers, and intensify prevention and control efforts for serious diseases and endemics. It will also continue to support the project whereby tens of thousands of medical workers are sent to poor rural areas and give treatment, clinical teaching and technical training to local fellows, so as to improve technical level and service ability of county hospitals and township clinics. Population and family planning policy will be furthered in poverty-stricken areas in the following ways: improvements will be made to the support and reward system and the special assistance system for rural households in line with the family planning policies, the “fewer children, quicker prosperity” project will be promoted, more aid will be given to those poor households, and management of family planning for the floating population will be improved.

25. Improving social security system

　　The state will gradually raise rural subsistence levels and the level of support for households covered by the “five guarantees” (food, clothing, medical care, housing and burial expenses) in order to ensure basic livelihood for rural residents who are unable to work. The government will put in place a better response system for natural disasters and develop a better relief policy for victims of such disasters. The new rural social endowment insurance system will cover more areas and the social security service network in poor areas will receive additional support from the state. The state will focus on nursing homes and service facilities in rural areas in order to establish a sound service system for the old in rural areas. Development of rural community will be furthered. The state will effectively and efficiently plan villages, and will launch more pilot renovation projects to address the issue of dilapidated houses in rural areas so as to ensure basic housing security for rural needy. Meanwhile, employment, social security and household registration reform policies will be improved for rural migrant workers.

26. Attaching importance to energy and ecological environment protection

　　The state will accelerate development and utilization of renewable energy in poverty-stricken areas, developing small hydropower works, solar power, wind energy and biomass energy. Additional efforts will popularize utilization of methane, energy-efficient stoves, solid fuel, straw gasification station and other ecologically-friendly energy options. The state will improve the decontamination rate of urban domestic sewage and garbage and will redouble environmental improvement efforts in rural areas. To increase vegetation coverage and recover ecological functions, the state will adopt measures to enhance protection and development of grasslands and natural reserves, and support pastureland-to-grassland projects by banning grazing (permanently or temporarily) and conducting rotational grazing. The state will also intensify prevention of debris flow, landslides and collapse with priority given to monitoring, alerting, relocation and project management.

　　VI. Social Involvement in Poverty Reduction

27. Enhancing targeted poverty reduction efforts

　　All departments and units of the Party Central Committee and state organs, people’s organizations, institutions managed in accordance with the Law of the People's Republic of China on Civil Servants, key large-sized state-owned enterprises, state-holding financial institutions, state key research institutions and universities, military forces and armed forces should be actively engaged in poverty reduction and shoulder corresponding tasks. Central Committees of non-Communist parties and All-China Federation of Industry & Commerce are supported to be involved in this effort. Non-public enterprises and social organizations will be urged, guided, supported and aided in taking such responsibilities. The targeted help will aim to cover all key counties. All forces involved should formulate respective poverty reduction plans, actively raise funds and select and send outstanding young and middle-aged officials to work temporarily in poor areas. Local Party and political organs at all levels and relevant departments must ensure effectiveness of targeted poverty reduction work and give full play to the demonstration effect of targeted poverty reduction efforts.

28. Promoting coordination between Eastern and Western areas in poverty alleviation

　　Eastern and Western areas should devise plans and coordinate closely in fund support activities, industrial development, official exchanges, personnel training and transfer employment of labor forces, and exploitation of natural resource and human resource advantages of the poor areas. This will enable them to effectively target assistance. The state-designated Project of Assistance by Industries should go hand in hand with the East-Helps-West program. The state will encourage Eastern and Central China to support the economic and social progress of Tibet and Xinjiang by improving the targeted assistance system and relevant measures. Provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government) should carry out pairing-up assistance programs locally in line with their actual conditions.

29. Engaging the military and armed police forces in poverty elimination

　　Taking into consideration of local needs, the military and armed police forces should act according to their ability and prioritize their help for poor people who live in localities where they are stationed. They should play an active part in eliminating local poverty and complement local strengths by giving full play to their advantages in strict organization, rapid response as well as outstanding talents, science and technology resources and equipment.

30. Mobilizing enterprises and all social sectors to alleviate poverty

　　The state advocates corporate social responsibility and encourages enterprises to adopt diverse measures to promote collective economic progress and increase farmer’s incomes. It will intensify planning and guidance, and urge social organizations and individuals to be involved in different ways. Volunteering will be advocated and volunteer network will be formed. Trade unions, the Communist Youth League, the Women’s Federation, the China Association for Science and Technology and the Overseas Chinese Federation as well as overseas Chinese will be mobilized and encouraged to participate in this endeavor.

　　VII. International Cooperation

31. Conducting international exchange and cooperation

　　Through the implementation of the “bringing in and going out” policy, the state will renovate mechanisms and expand channels to enhance international anti-poverty communication. It will also learn international anti-poverty theory and practices, conduct cooperation on anti-poverty projects and share experience with other counties in a common effort to promote poverty reduction.

　　VIII. Policy Guarantee

32. Policy system

　　The state will improve its anti-poverty strategy and policy system, making it more effective in poor areas and for poor populations. The policy system will give play to the comprehensive benefits of special, industrial and social poverty alleviation efforts; integrate development-oriented poverty reduction projects with the social security system, and carry out impact assessment before initiating important policies and projects that might affect poverty reduction work.

33. Fiscal support

　　The central and local governments will increase their financial inputs to help impoverished people. The lion’s share of additional poverty reduction funding from the central budget will be used in contiguous areas with special difficulties. General transfer payments of central and provincial budget toward the poverty-stricken areas will be increased, as will the use of lottery proceeds for the purpose of poverty reduction. No tariff will be levied for state-approved domestic and foreign investment projects; foreign-funded competitive industry projects in Eastern and Central China; self-use equipment unable to be produced domestically; or technologies, accessories and spare parts imported alongside such equipment. If eligible, corporate donations to poor people can be deducted according to relevant tax regulations.

34. Favorable investment policies

　　The government will intensify input in terms of infrastructure construction, ecological environment improvement and welfare project development. It will build more village-level roads and develop agriculture comprehensively. It will also protect land resources and small river basins, control water and soil erosion, and develop hydropower in rural areas. The state-arranged projects for the consolidation of dangerous reservoirs, ecological construction, drinking water safety, supporting transformation in large irrigated areas and other public benefits projects will not receive supporting funds from government at or below county level nor government of contiguous areas with special difficulties in Western China. Governments at all levels should intensify investment support for contiguous areas with special difficulties.

35. Financial services

　　The state will continue to improve national anti-poverty discounted-interest loan policies in the following ways: actively promoting innovation of financial products and service modes in poverty-stricken areas, encouraging development of small-sum credit loans, and satisfying poor peoples’ need for funds to develop production. It will carry out anti-poverty loan projects for rehabilitation of the handicapped, enable coverage of poor areas by financial institutions and financial services, and guide civil loans to develop normally. It will also widen financing channels of poor areas and encourage financial institutions incorporated at county level in poor areas to make over 70% of their additional loans locally. The state will energetically develop insurance services in rural areas by urging insurance institutions to establish grass-roots service networks in poverty-stricken areas. It will also improve existing agriculture premium subsidy policies, inspire local communities to develop specialty agriculture insurance targeting specialty and leading industries of poor areas and strengthen the rural credit system.

36. Industrial support

　　The government will implement various industrial policies under the Western Development Project. Large-scale national projects, key projects and emerging industries should be arranged in favor of qualified poverty-stricken areas. Labor-intensive industries should be guided toward poor areas as well. Market development in poor areas should be reinforced. The state supports reasonable development and utilization of resources in poverty-stricken areas and will improve policies to support the development of specialty and competitive industries.

37. Land use

　　According to farmland protection and rural land utilization regulations, new land for construction should first be used to satisfy house-building requirements for those who are relocated from poor areas. The state will reasonably arrange land for construction in small towns and concentrated industrial parks, reclaim more land, favor eligible key counties in terms of project arrangement, and support poverty-stricken areas to exploit and utilize mineral resources in an eco-friendly and orderly way.

38. Ecological preservation

　　The state will continue to launch grain-to-green, pastureland-to-grassland, water and soil conservation, natural forest protection, and shelter forest construction projects as well as controlling desertification in Karst areas and other areas. An ecological compensation mechanism favoring poverty-stricken areas will be created and ecological compensation for key ecological function areas will be intensified. Protection of biodiversity in poor areas will be put high on the agenda.

39. Guarantee of talents

　　The government will organize personnel from the education, science, culture and health sectors and volunteers to work in poverty-stricken areas. It will also formulate policy encouraging institutions of higher learning, research institutions and medical institutions to nurture talents for poor areas. Government will guide college students to work or start business in poor areas, design incentive policies for officials who hold long-term posts in poor areas, and favor technicians of all sectors in terms of posts and job titles. It will show more care to officials who hold temporary posts in poor areas under targeted poverty reduction programs or the East-Help-West Program, making proper arrangements for their work and life so as to give full play to their advantages, engage with talents who start their own business in poverty reduction effort and give more training to officials and practical talents in poor areas.

40. Key groups on the development-oriented poverty reduction list

　　Having incorporated development-oriented poverty reduction program schemes for ethic minorities, women, children and the handicapped into its planning, the state will make unified arrangements for their implementation, give priority to their implementation when all conditions are equal and strengthen support for these groups. It will organize the implementation of a special program to revitalize border areas and enrich the local people and help smaller ethnic groups shake off poverty. It will promote women of poor households to participate in the activity of learning culture and technology, comparing performance and contribution, and will pay attention to those women and children who are left home in the countryside. The state will formulate and implement the Development-oriented Poverty Reduction Program for Disabled People in Rural Areas (2011-2020) to enhance their subsistence and development ability.

　　IX. Organizational Leadership

41. Reinforcing development-oriented poverty reduction responsibility

　　Adhering to the management system whereby the central government plans the project as a whole, provinces take overall responsibility and counties shoulder responsibility of implementation, the state will attach great importance to communities, villages and households in poverty alleviation and hold the leading officials of Party and government responsible for development-oriented poverty reduction endeavors. Party committees and governments at all levels should enhance awareness, intensify coordination functions of development-oriented leading groups, strengthen leadership and make unified arrangements. They should increase integration of province-county projects and resource arrangements to promote the accomplishment of various tasks. The government will further improve evaluation incentive mechanisms for Party and government officials as well as departments and key counties. Organizational departments at all levels should actively coordinate work in this regard. Provinces (municipalities directly under the central government) in Eastern areas will give intensified support to their poverty-stricken areas and poverty reduction project beneficiaries. The government will also encourage and support eligible areas to explore ways to settle poverty-related problems emerging during urbanization.

42. Strengthening construction of rural grass-roots organizations

　　The government will give full play to the impregnable role played by grass-roots Party organizations in poor areas and integrate development-oriented poverty reduction programing with grass-roots level organizational development. It will appoint strong leaders to villages and actively explore effective channels to develop collective economy and collective capital accumulation and find more ways to enrich rural residents. The state will encourage and select ideologically and morally advanced young officials, ex-servicemen, university graduates who are extremely capable and are willing to serve the people, to build leader teams, guide work groups and foster development in poor villages. Village officials who have done a great job in lifting poor villagers out of poverty will be given preference when applying for the civil service in accordance with relevant regulations and conditions.

43. Enhancing team building of poverty reduction institutions

　　Development-oriented leading groups at all levels should improve guidance for poverty reduction activities, study and design policy measures and coordinate the implementation of all tasks. Leading groups in provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government) should report their work to the development-oriented poverty reduction program leading group of the State Council. The state will further strengthen anti-poverty institutions at all levels and their respective functions, enhance team building, improve working conditions and the quality of management. Deeply impoverished townships should have a special official responsible for development-oriented poverty alleviation. The training of county-level officials and above-county-level officials who work in anti-poverty departments should be included in the overall training plan of Party and government officials at all levels. Poverty reduction departments should enhance their ideological and moral standards, fight against corruption and improve efficiency and ability to execute.

44. Improving management of poverty reduction fund

　　Fiscal funds will be mainly earmarked to contiguous areas with special difficulties, key counties and poverty-stricken villages, to foster specialty and competitive industries, improve development capacity of poor people and their basic production and living condition, and to increase direct funding for households. Mechanism of direct funding for households will be innovated and multiple ways will be used to ensure effective support for the needy. Infrastructure construction projects that use poverty reduction funding should make sure that poor people benefit first. Anti-poverty projects by industries should be directed to lift poor households out of poverty. A public announcement system for poverty reduction funding will be promulgated, audit and monitoring functions will be strengthened, and monitoring channels will be widened to crack down embezzlement and corruption.

45. Enhancing anti-poverty research and publicity

　　The state will earnestly improve theory and policy research on anti-poverty issues, summarize anti-poverty practices systematically, and gradually develop increasingly sophisticated theory and policy with Chinese characteristics. It will conduct surveys to improve decision-making and implementation ability, include poverty reduction in basic education for civilians about national conditions, in official training and civil servants education and in school education. The government will continue publicizing poverty alleviation projects and informing people of policies, achievements, experiences and typical examples in this regard so as to create a favorable environment for anti-poverty activities. Meanwhile, it will also showcase to the international community our efforts and accomplishments in guaranteeing people’s right to live and develop.

46. Reinforcing statistics collection and monitoring of poverty reduction work

　　The state will establish a development-oriented poverty reduction program information system and monitor contiguous areas with special difficulties. It will improve its statistics and monitoring system; regularize data collection, collation, feedback and announcement; and make information on the current poverty  situation and trends known in a timely and objective way, so as to provide basis for scientific decision-making.

47. Enhancing building of the legal system

　　The government will accelerate lawmaking processes in order to provide a legal basis for poverty reduction.

48. Provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities that directly under the central government) shall design their respective implementation approaches in accordance with this outline.

49. The Leading Group Office of Poverty Reduction and Development of the State Council is responsible for coordinating and organizing implementation of this outline.