If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.

Isaac Newton, in a letter to Robert Hooke, February 5, 1676Footnote 1

When Xi Jinping became president in 2012, China still had nearly 100 million poor people—greater than the population of all but 11 of the world’s 233 countries and regions at that time. But far from being intimidated, in 2015, President Xi declared to the world what he’d said to Eighteen Caves’ villagers in November, 2013—that China could vanquish absolute poverty by 2020.

Xi Jinping had good reason for confidence. Like Isaac Newton, Xi stood on the shoulders of giants who, within 60 years, had lifted more people from poverty than any nation in history. But the last few million were proving to be the most intractable because of their remoteness, cultural and language barriers, or natural environments decimated by over-population, over-utilization and global warming.

Anti-Poverty No. 1; Precision at All Levels

Determined to reach these last few millions, Xi made two decisions. First, he declared that poverty alleviation and development must become the No. 1 priority for governing at every level—and not just on paper but in practice, with every leader at every level held strictly accountable. As Dr. Huang Chengwei noted, elimination of poverty had of course been the Party’s goal since 1949, “However, this idea is constantly developing. When Xi Jinping became president in 2012, the fight against poverty entered a new stage. A society cannot be said to be well off if there are still tens of millions of poor people! The main contribution of President Xi has been to prioritize poverty reduction and mobilize the entire Party, entire country and entire society through a series of innovative strategies … to use China’s wisdom to reduce poverty.”

Xi’s second decision, to focus on precision poverty alleviation, was to have a great influence upon the war on poverty not only in China but in the rest of the world as well—especially China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Xi of course built upon the successes of those who went before him but he also relied heavily upon his own experiences as a 35-year-old Party secretary tackling poverty in Ningde, Fujian—one of the nation’s 18 poorest counties. Many of his policies and practices from that early period later came to be used nationwide, including Xi’s emphases on finding the specific causes and cures of poverty in each unique situation, building upon the peoples’ strengths, and giving extra aid to minorities hindered by geographic or cultural isolation.

Dr. Huang’s Overview of Precision Poverty Alleviation

In 2015, on a World Bank blog,Footnote 2 Dr. Huang gave the world a brief overview of the whys and hows of Xi’s precision poverty alleviation:

Rural farmers’ per capita incomes have risen faster than the national average, and farmers have benefited from improved infrastructure and public services, including highways and railways, access to electricity and internet, universal access to compulsory education, a rural minimum living standards guarantee scheme, and extensive rural cooperative medical care.

But Dr. Huang also divulged the formidable challenges still facing the nation:

By the end of 2015, 55.75 million Chinese people still lived in poverty, equivalent to the population of a medium-sized country [actually, larger than 174 of 198 countries in 2015!]. The nation still has 14 poor regions, 832 poor counties, and 128,000 poor villages. It will be a hard task to help the remaining poor, as they live in deep poverty and lack self-development capacity. And it will become increasingly difficult and costly. But there is no time to lose. To eliminate extreme poverty by 2020, 10 million people have to be lifted out of poverty each year for the next four years. Their vulnerability means that they are very likely to fall back into poverty due to disaster, illness, education and housing costs.

In the next five years, China, as the biggest developing country in the world, is entering a critical stage of its efforts to build a well-off society, and is facing a number of new challenges in poverty reduction…

China faces many new problems, such as economic slowdown and industrial restructuring, inadequate targeting mechanism, poorly defined responsibilities, inefficient allocation and use of resources, and lack of effective policy coordination among poverty alleviation approaches, rural minimum living standards guarantee, new rural cooperative medical care, medical assistance, dilapidated housing rehabilitation and education assistance, and lack of adaptation to local conditions and specific guidance.

The government has set a target to lift all rural poor people and poor counties out of poverty by 2020 as part of the goal to build a well-off society. In the next five years, China will pursue precision poverty alleviation policies and strive to reduce poverty through development of industries, labor migration, relocation, and minimum living standards guarantee scheme. The government will increase fiscal spending and financial support, strengthen land policy, mobilize private resources, and create a favorable environment. It also focuses on defining poverty alleviation responsibilities of governments at all levels, developing a rigorous monitoring and evaluation system, and establishing an exit mechanism for poor counties.

By taking these and other actions, China is working hard to achieve its goal of eliminating extreme poverty by 2020.

But as Dr. Huang explained, Xi’s precision poverty alleviation was possible only because he also demanded precise accountability with no room whatsoever for inefficient or inappropriate use of resources. All leaders, at all level, are held accountable for “six precisions”, including precise support objects, precise project arrangements, accurate fund use, accurate household-level measures, accurate village assignments, and accurate poverty alleviation results. But the linchpin holding the entire program together is the “first secretary”—though I feel “barefoot first secretary” is a more appropriate title.

Barefoot First Secretaries

In 1951, only two years after Liberation, Beijing declared that all villages should have basic medical care by medical workers living right in the villages. By 1957, the nation already had over 200,000 barefoot doctors, and eventually some 1.5 million. Today, China no longer has barefoot doctors but it does have first secretaries who are just as barefoot—at least in spirit.

Even in the 1980s, the government realized that a great weakness of the national anti-poverty programs was that they did not connect directly with the very people they were designed to help—the poor—hence the first secretary. Like barefoot doctors, first secretaries are “part of the community, understand the community, care about the community and are trusted by the community”. They get to know each village member and their condition, and work to change not only conditions but also attitudes—to instill a spirit of self-reliance and courage, to promote innovativeness and entrepreneurialism.

This idea of closer official-masses relationships arose in part from Xi Jinping’s experiences of living seven years in the poverty-stricken village of Liangjiahe, where he came face-to-face with China’s endemic poverty. “From General Secretary Xi,” Dr. Huang said, “we can see that if an official does not have a deep understanding of the reality of development imbalances, it is difficult for him to excel at managing and governing.”

But sometimes the realities these barefoot first secretaries face are almost overwhelming. “I could not understand their language and they didn’t understand standard Chinese!” one first secretary said to me. “I wanted to help them but they had no idea what I was saying – so we communicated with lots of sign language and lots of rice wine!”

“Did you ever learn their language?” I asked.

“No,” he said, laughing. “They learned mine. They’re smarter than I am!”

But one first secretary shared his shock in learning that some people simply did not want to be helped. “Some do not want to escape poverty because they have never known anything else. They have no idea that they’re poor, or that their child’s deformity or fatal illness could have been avoided with even the simplest medical care. It’s heartbreaking. But once they’ve a taste of a better life, they do not want to go back to the old ways. So Xi Jinping was right – we must prove to them they can have a better life.”

I’ve been deeply moved by the first secretaries I’ve met in Ningxia, Fujian, Tibet—or even in my own home province of Fujian. Some were flabbergasted by problems that seem unbelievable and almost comical in retrospect. One first secretary happily gave minority members the keys to their new houses—only to have to replace over 100 doors because they’d never seen keys before and used axes to batter down the doors. Since then, he’s careful to give lessons on using locks and keys.

Although some first secretaries were assigned to their tasks, quite a few volunteered to give up their comfortable, well-paid jobs in provincial capitals and even leave their families for a three-year stint serving in poor villages and living in the same conditions. But what really surprised me was that many ask for another three years after their first term is up, even though they only see their families a few times a year, and many suffer serious health issues—especially in high altitude Tibet. One told me, “Not everyone has obvious symptoms of altitude sickness, but our bodies weren’t designed for these heights. At this elevation, even Tibetans are affected over time. No one escapes unscathed. My friend, another Han Chinese who had served in Tibet two years, seemed perfectly healthy – until the day he keeled over dead.”

“But if it hurts your health, why did you volunteer for another three years?” I asked. “Why don’t you return home to your family?”

He sighed. “Yes, my health has suffered – but I’ve never before done anything more fulfilling.”

With such dedicated “barefoot leaders” undertaking China’s ambitious national policies, it is not surprising that farmers’ situations are improving rapidly. From 2010 to 2015, the per capita net income of farmers in poverty-stricken counties doubled, with a higher growth rate than the national average for five consecutive years. At the same time, rural social security was improved, including medical and retirement, and infrastructure was improved to the point that some 90% of villages have access to highways, electricity and telephones.

Precision Pummels Poverty

But Dr. Huang was quick to clarify that this improvement was not because of China’s economic growth alone. “Many nations prosper and still do not help the poor.” China’s success has been possible only because of precision poverty alleviation strategies honed over the decades. And thanks to Xi Jinping’s contribution since becoming president in 2012, and the lessons learned by China’s army of first secretaries, Dr. Huang is confident that China can also help other countries fight poverty—especially China’s partners in the Belt and Road Initiative.

“The results have been obvious!” Dr. Huang said. “China’s changes have been holistic and comprehensive, with improved infrastructure, education, health, science and technology. Visit any impoverished area and you can see the tremendous changes that have taken place there, especially in terms of people’s livelihood. The changes are huge. The roads in poor areas have been repaired, the courtyards of poor families are quiet and peaceful and they are using hygienic toilets. These are revolutionary changes.”

“Revolutionary indeed!” I thought, as I remembered the rural and urban toilets of the late 1980s.

“The country has also changed the industrial format of entire impoverished areas,” Dr. Huang said, “including e-commerce poverty alleviation, photovoltaic poverty alleviation, consumer poverty alleviation, and other new types of poverty alleviation methods.

“From 1978 to 2012, per capita income and consumption level of rural residents increased by 11.5 times and 9.3 times, respectively. Per capita disposable income of rural residents in poverty-stricken areas in 2018 was 10,731 Yuan, which was 1.99 times that of 2012 – and higher growth than the national average. In 2018, the per capita consumption expenditure of rural residents in poverty-stricken areas in 2018 was 73.9% of the national average in rural areas.”

Pride in Self and Nation

“These great changes have also dramatically improved the mental outlook of the poor,” Dr. Huang said, “giving them self-confidence and pride.” He also noted it has strengthened solidarity. “Only when the people at the grassroots level and the poorest people say that the Communist Party and our president are good can we prove that our Communist Party is really good and capable of governing.”

I resonated with that. I’ve asked many farmers why their lives had improved so much, so quickly. Several farmers in different parts of the country told me, “Good policies.”

“But why good policies?” I persisted.

“Policies are good because leaders understand our needs and care for us.”

But several farmers added, “Of course, policies aren’t enough. We must do our part as well.”

But before China built rural infrastructure, farmers couldn’t do their part even if they had wanted to. A Ningxia farmer said, “Before we had roads, we could not escape our remote valleys to sell anything or seek work. We were like frogs in a well.” He grinned, and held up his Huawei cell phone. “Now we’re free!”

China’s success in fighting poverty has not only reduced unequal development between urban and rural areas but has also helped improve the social atmosphere. Dr. Huang said, “In the old days, how could a family in Beijing know that family life in Qinghai was so difficult, that the children couldn’t afford school and had no hope if they fell ill? But now through social mobilization, through poverty alleviation, through consumption of rural products, etc., many people in large cities have learned about the lives of people in poverty-stricken areas, and they know that many people have much worse living conditions than them. People’s hearts are good; it is very important to stimulate and activate this kindness. After seeing a doctor, you can’t forget your disease; likewise, after seeing poverty, we can understand that, regardless of our situation, there are still tens of millions worse off than I am.”

Urban-Rural Citizen Exchanges

As Dr. Huang spoke of projects bridging city and country, I thought of some of the rural-urban projects I had seen across China. Some cities organize monthly fruit fairs so city dwellers can head to the countryside, pick their own seasonal fruits—different fruits each month—and pay the farmer directly. Farmers earn more, town and country come to understand each other better, and some people, like Feng Yougen, a rich Hunan entrepreneur, seize the opportunity to teach city children about nature. Mr. Feng said, “Nowadays, many children have grown up in the city since birth. They have never been in contact with nature and know nothing about animals and plants. So each year we have 300,000 children come to Panlong Grand View Garden to see very diverse plants and flowers from every country of the world.”

China also has many programs in which rural and urban children become pen pals, or city children tutor children online. A 16-year-old student at New Channel Education Group headquarters in Beijing told me that in spite of her heavy academic schedule, she spends several hours a week tutoring rural children in math. “Do they pay you?” I asked.

“No,” she said. “My family is not well off, but we have more than they do. I’m thankful I can help.”

Rural tourism has also benefited the entire nation, with Nongjiale providing income for farmers and affordable country getaways for city people – and quite often, lifetime friendships between hosts and guests.

“This fight against poverty provides a model for the development of all mankind,” Dr. Huang said. “We can’t have some people live the good life while others are hungry, cold and sick. Those who prosper cannot forget those who lag behind. As a thinking, advanced animal, man cannot allow this to happen.”

“So what can the rest of the world learn from China?” I asked Dr. Huang.

Not surprisingly, Dr. Huang had answers right at his fingertips.