Interview: Renowned economist says China's eradication of poverty brings hope to poor countries
by Xiong Maoling, Tan Yixiao
WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- China's eradication of absolute poverty is a "great historic accomplishment," bringing hope and providing lessons to poor countries in the world, said renowned economist and bestselling author Jeffrey Sachs.
"This is wonderful news. It's a great historic accomplishment. China has done more to reduce extreme poverty in a short period of time than any other country in history," Sachs, director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, told Xinhua in a recent video interview.
Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chinese leadership didn't delay the goal of eliminating extreme poverty by 2020, but has taken forceful actions to contain the spread of the virus and continued in the fight against poverty, said Sachs, who is also a senior United Nations (UN) advisor.
"So rather than postponing the goal, China said we need to stop the virus. And I think that was the right strategy," said Sachs. "No one knew whether it could be done, but China showed that it could be done."
Sachs served as special advisor to three UN secretaries-general from 2001 to 2018, and is currently director of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. He has authored numerous books, including the New York Times bestseller "The End of Poverty."
Sachs first visited China in 1981, and has been "watching closely" the Asian country's development for almost 40 years.
Looking back, Sachs said China has adopted a variety of poverty alleviation strategies in different periods, and the overall strategy starting around 1980 was to promote "broad-based economic development."
Noting that reform and opening-up are crucial, Sachs said China has achieved high-speed growth during the past decades, which is "extraordinary."
"So this is a fantastic achievement, and that is the most fundamental part of ending poverty," Sachs said.
"Then the government directed resources to human development, especially to education, healthcare and decent nutrition and this made for a healthier, well-educated and more productive population," he said.
As the coastal regions have developed faster than the interior, China has directed attention to the lagging regions and rolled out special programs to address the issue, said Sachs.
"I got to know many of the provinces in western China, at least as a visitor, and saw that there was determination by local officials, district officials and township officials to bring new businesses, new jobs and new infrastructure. This was quite heartening," Sachs said.
With determination, clear and sound plans, as well as investments in infrastructure, the interior region has become a new source of economic growth, he said.
In recent years, as the rate of poverty has fallen, the Chinese government has directed attention to individual households to address their specific problems, Sachs said.
"So the strategy operates on many, many levels," Sachs said. "It's a tremendous advance in wellbeing and it's also a very powerful framework."
Despite varied circumstances in different countries, China's poverty alleviation efforts provide valuable lessons for developing countries across the globe, said Sachs.
"There are a lot of lessons about long-term development that come from China's experience during the last 40 years," Sachs said.
Sachs laid out three key lessons from China's practice, with the first one being setting clear goals.
"Targets are very important in human life because they keep us focused. They keep us moving forward," he said. "The lack of goals can really weaken a society."
The second lesson is good capacity for planning, Sachs said, highlighting China's National Development and Reform Commission and the whole planning structure.
"So creating a framework able to look ahead in a systematic way and plan for five- to 10-year horizons what to do is extremely important," he said.
The third is a broad-based strategy that combines public investment and market-based growth in infrastructure, healthcare and education. "It's the combination of the two that has been very effective," Sachs said.
As China's impoverished population decreases, China's role in the global economy is expanding in many ways, said the economist.
"China's demand for imports from overseas boosts trade and global demand. China's enormous supply of low-cost and high-quality infrastructure is vital for developing countries aiming to expand their own infrastructure," he said. "All of these bring important benefits for the world economy."
While extreme poverty has ended, there are still living standard gaps between China's urban and rural areas, and the productivity in many rural areas is still relatively low, Sachs said.
Looking forward, Sachs said China should do what it has been doing for decades. "I would hope that China would keep that view of the longer term because it has served China very well," he said.
The economist said he would like to see the Belt and Road Initiative "really expanded" in the coming years as a way to create more investment in green and digital infrastructure in developing countries "as a basis for their continued economic development."
He also called on China, the United States and the European Union to work together to address global challenges and build more inclusive and fair societies with lower inequality.