16 October 2015: The Government of China has launched a plan to eliminate poverty by the end of 2020, and is expected to launch targeted measures to achieve this goal, including education campaigns and encouraging financial support. The plan was announced during the 2015 Global Poverty Reduction and Development Forum, opened by President Xi Jinping, who underscored China’s commitment to poverty reduction as a priority for its 2016-2020 five-year development plan.

The Forum met in Beijing, China, on 16 October 2015, where participants discussed the multidimensional nature of poverty in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and exchanged best practices on poverty reduction strategies. It was co-hosted by China’s State Council Leading Group of Poverty Alleviation and Development, and the UN System in China.

UN Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Helen Clark commended China for pledging US$1 billion for the China-UN Peace and Development Fund, US$2 billion for the South-South Cooperation Aid Fund and US$3.2 billion for the South-South Climate Cooperation Fund, among other commitments announced recently by Xi. She added that China has the opportunity to mainstream the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and targets of the 2030 Agenda into its national development agenda through its five-year plan. On measuring progress on poverty eradication and the SDGs, Clark said China already collects wide-ranging data, including at the household level, to inform poverty reduction strategies, and at the industry level to support economic and environmental management.

The Forum was attended by World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Margaret Chan, New Development Bank (NDB) President Vaman Kundapur Kamath, and the heads of state of Cambodia, Chad, Croatia and Lao PDR, among others. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addressed the forum via video message. [UNDP China Press Release] [Statement by UNDP Administrator]