China has made remarkable achievements in alleviating poverty, and its experience also offers inspiration to the global cause of poverty reduction, a former U.S. diplomat has said.
Calling China's efforts in poverty reduction "a truly remarkable achievement," former U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia Kenneth Quinn recently told Xinhua that he believes there is no other country that "has done as much in such a short period of time to reduce poverty than in China."
"It can only be said to be a spectacular success," said Quinn, also president emeritus of the World Food Prize Foundation.
In the past seven decades, more than 850 million Chinese people have been lifted out of poverty, accounting for more than 70 percent of poverty reduction worldwide, official data showed.
Furthermore, China is on course to eradicate extreme poverty across the country by 2020, which will make the country the first in the world to end absolute poverty.
The veteran U.S. diplomat, who first visited China in 1979 and has since made multiple trips there, said he mainly attributes China's success to four "Rs", namely roads, research, rice and reform.
According to Quinn, roads, or the absolute infrastructure, are the essential element to development, and China's decades-long intense research in such fields as agriculture is also an important catalyst.
"Along with research, of course, comes innovation," he said.
Meanwhile, endeavor by Chinese agronomists and researchers, including Yuan Longping, in increasing rice production is another crucial factor.
"And finally, the fourth 'R' is reform, policy reform," he said, adding that socialism with Chinese characteristics has "been very very effective, very impressive."
He said he has witnessed "how effective institutions are being implemented" and is always impressed by "how well everything works" when traveling in China.
Chinese people also deserve credit for the hard work and innovation that has brought about the dramatic improvement in poverty alleviation, he said.
Regarding China as "a great example of what can happen," Quinn said the Chinese experience has set a pioneering example of practical significance to the international community.
Prioritizing infrastructure construction, valuing education and research to inspire young generations, and offering opportunities to women are among the key lessons that other nations can draw from China, said Quinn.
"Another lesson to take away from China is the importance of training and educating a large number of people to administer programs," he said, adding that China's achievements have contributed to the global cause of poverty reduction.
Noting that international cooperation is crucial to tackle the global challenge of ending poverty, Quinn urged the United States and China to collaborate in tackling poverty.
"China and the United States have both shown they can do remarkable things," he said, adding that joint efforts by the two largest economies could help uplift the world.
