Infrastructure still at forefront in poverty fight

China will continue emphasizing infrastructure improvement and education in poverty-stricken areas in a bid to optimize their development environments to promote the equalization of public services, said a top official Thursday.

China will speed up building more road networks and upgrading grid facilities for rural areas, Fan Xiaojian, head of the Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development under the State Council, said at the 2013 Global Poverty Reduction and Development Forum on Thursday in Beijing, which is the 21st International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.

China had nearly 100 million impoverished people by the end of 2012, with an average reduction of 33 million per year from 2011. The new government had vowed to help 60 million to get out of poverty.

A total of 2.73 million people, who currently have no access to electricity, will benefit from the renovation of the national grid, which will be finished by 2015.

Education should be prioritized in poverty alleviation works to foster various talents, he said, adding that the country's nine-year compulsory education will cover more than 90 percent of children by 2015.

The Chinese government will strengthen technology training for farmers to improve their abilities to acquire information. For example, all villages in the country with access to electricity will have access to Internet service by 2015, and a poverty-stricken family will be taught at least one agricultural skill to solve their employment issues, according to Fan.

In the 13 years since China and another 197 countries signed a consent vowing to eliminate poverty, China has reduced its impoverished population by more than two thirds, Wang Yang, Chinese vice-premier said at the forum.

"We have witnessed remarkable progress in China's poverty alleviation efforts, which can be one of China's best exports," said Brett Rierson, representative of the World Food Programme (WFP) in China.