By: Azhar Azam
*This is one of my opinion pieces (unedited) that first appeared at "China Global Television Network (CGTN)":
https://news.cgtn.com/news/2019-10-18/BRI-is-instrumental-to-realizing-no-poverty-vision--KSPWk1HvKE/index.html
Poverty alleviation is the topmost goal of the 17-Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or the Global Goals (GGs) that were adopted by all the member states at the annual session of UNGA in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the plant, and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030.
While October 17 marks the 27th anniversary of the United Nations’ International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, the world can rejoice the moment as a great success after wilting down the scourge of poverty from 36% in 1990 to 8.6% in 2018.
One country, which has truly aided the UN to volubly dash towards its top-priority ambition, is China. The Chinese phenomenal achievements in curbing poverty are the textbook lessons for the developing countries.
Sometimes, the poor in the developing or underdeveloped countries are presumed to be a liability or burden on their national economy. But for China, they were its strength.
China diverted all available resources and provided training to its poor people who were largely located in the country’s rural areas. The unique financial and technical investment on poor repaid China as the same population transformed the Chinese economy in the coming few years.
Through the unprecedented growth that continues to last, China shaken off 850 million people out of extreme poverty and thus was alone responsible for three-quarters of reduction in the global poverty since 1980s till to date.
Meanwhile, Beijing not only doubled the global GDP in purchasing power parity (PPP) to $121.062 trillion between 1990 and 2018 but also upturned its own GDP-PPP by a staggering over 1200% to $22.544 trillion. Chinese economy at GDP-PPP now accounts for about 19% of the global economy after superseding the United States in 2013.
As of 2018, Beijing’s economy was 25% bigger than the America’s $18.217 billion. And at the same time by the end of 2018, the number of people below poverty in Chinese rural areas had decreased to 16.6 million only from 770 million in 1978.
With this substantial contribution of over 70% to the global cause, Beijing is set to deliver on the top UN goal 2020, 10 years ahead of the scheduled 2030.
The miracle of purging poverty wasn’t restricted to China as it continued to emerge as the leading contributor to the global poverty reduction. In the past three decades, the unrivaled Chinese triumph against poverty enormously helped the world to pull more than one billion out of extreme poverty (below the income of $1.90).
Because of China’s success in poverty eradication, the poor headcount ratio in its region East Asia and Pacific was dropped from 73.1 million in 2013 to 47.2 million in 2015 – that was more than 35.4%, the largest in the regions across the globe.
While according to the most recent estimate, in 2015, 10% of the of the world population was still living below the poverty line – Vice President of the World Bank’s East Asia and Pacific Victoria Kwakwa sought China’s support to build group’s knowledge and capabilities and to transfer China’s magical development lessons to other countries.
China, as a key driver of the declining global poverty, is always inclined to share its expertise and experience with the international financial bodies and the global countries world so that more than 700 million people worldwide could be lifted out of absolute poverty.
Since 629.7 million people or about 86% of the global poor live in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa and while extreme poverty has almost doubled in Middle East and North Africa (MENA), China’s Belt and Road Initiative could critically slice down the poor headcount in these regions, which are threatening to be wedged in extreme poverty.
More than half of the extreme poor live in Sub-Saharan Africa and their number is expected to increase by 9 million, adding to 413 million already living at less than $1.90/day in 2015. If the trend continues, nearly 9 out of 10 extreme poor will be in Sub-Saharan Africa.
As Chinese BRI projects in Pakistan would potentially see additional reductions in extreme poverty by 1.1 million people and by 200,000 people in Bangladesh, Sub-Saharan African countries could cut their rolling poverty crisis through Chinese infrastructure and transport projects in the region.
The World Bank’s report in June noted that BRI could speed up economic development and reduce poverty in dozens of developing countries. The analysis further found that the initiative’s transport project alone has the potential to lift 7.6 million people from extreme poverty and another 32 million even from moderate poverty (those earning less than $3.2/day), mostly in the BRI corridor economies.
BRI projects unleash a vast opportunity to the nations in MENA, Central Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa to increase their exports. The increased trade would inevitably result in higher job opportunities and would add thrust to the downfall of poverty in the regions.
China’s mega drive of regional connectivity and shared growth aims to promote global economy, creating new trade routes, establish of infrastructure, and ramping up trade relations – the paybacks will be grossly experienced by all the countries of the world, particularly in the form of reduced poverty in the developing countries.
The BRI is fully aligned with the UN sustainable development agenda 2030 as well and hence could accelerate its SDGs in the given timeframe. If all countries would participate in the joint advancement of BRI, the dream of “no poverty” won’t remain an illusion anymore.
*This is one of my opinion pieces (unedited) that first appeared at "China Global Television Network (CGTN)":
https://news.cgtn.com/news/2019-10-18/BRI-is-instrumental-to-realizing-no-poverty-vision--KSPWk1HvKE/index.html
Poverty alleviation is the topmost goal of the 17-Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or the Global Goals (GGs) that were adopted by all the member states at the annual session of UNGA in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the plant, and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030.
While October 17 marks the 27th anniversary of the United Nations’ International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, the world can rejoice the moment as a great success after wilting down the scourge of poverty from 36% in 1990 to 8.6% in 2018.
One country, which has truly aided the UN to volubly dash towards its top-priority ambition, is China. The Chinese phenomenal achievements in curbing poverty are the textbook lessons for the developing countries.
Sometimes, the poor in the developing or underdeveloped countries are presumed to be a liability or burden on their national economy. But for China, they were its strength.
China diverted all available resources and provided training to its poor people who were largely located in the country’s rural areas. The unique financial and technical investment on poor repaid China as the same population transformed the Chinese economy in the coming few years.
Through the unprecedented growth that continues to last, China shaken off 850 million people out of extreme poverty and thus was alone responsible for three-quarters of reduction in the global poverty since 1980s till to date.
Meanwhile, Beijing not only doubled the global GDP in purchasing power parity (PPP) to $121.062 trillion between 1990 and 2018 but also upturned its own GDP-PPP by a staggering over 1200% to $22.544 trillion. Chinese economy at GDP-PPP now accounts for about 19% of the global economy after superseding the United States in 2013.
As of 2018, Beijing’s economy was 25% bigger than the America’s $18.217 billion. And at the same time by the end of 2018, the number of people below poverty in Chinese rural areas had decreased to 16.6 million only from 770 million in 1978.
With this substantial contribution of over 70% to the global cause, Beijing is set to deliver on the top UN goal 2020, 10 years ahead of the scheduled 2030.
The miracle of purging poverty wasn’t restricted to China as it continued to emerge as the leading contributor to the global poverty reduction. In the past three decades, the unrivaled Chinese triumph against poverty enormously helped the world to pull more than one billion out of extreme poverty (below the income of $1.90).
Because of China’s success in poverty eradication, the poor headcount ratio in its region East Asia and Pacific was dropped from 73.1 million in 2013 to 47.2 million in 2015 – that was more than 35.4%, the largest in the regions across the globe.
While according to the most recent estimate, in 2015, 10% of the of the world population was still living below the poverty line – Vice President of the World Bank’s East Asia and Pacific Victoria Kwakwa sought China’s support to build group’s knowledge and capabilities and to transfer China’s magical development lessons to other countries.
China, as a key driver of the declining global poverty, is always inclined to share its expertise and experience with the international financial bodies and the global countries world so that more than 700 million people worldwide could be lifted out of absolute poverty.
Since 629.7 million people or about 86% of the global poor live in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa and while extreme poverty has almost doubled in Middle East and North Africa (MENA), China’s Belt and Road Initiative could critically slice down the poor headcount in these regions, which are threatening to be wedged in extreme poverty.
More than half of the extreme poor live in Sub-Saharan Africa and their number is expected to increase by 9 million, adding to 413 million already living at less than $1.90/day in 2015. If the trend continues, nearly 9 out of 10 extreme poor will be in Sub-Saharan Africa.
As Chinese BRI projects in Pakistan would potentially see additional reductions in extreme poverty by 1.1 million people and by 200,000 people in Bangladesh, Sub-Saharan African countries could cut their rolling poverty crisis through Chinese infrastructure and transport projects in the region.
The World Bank’s report in June noted that BRI could speed up economic development and reduce poverty in dozens of developing countries. The analysis further found that the initiative’s transport project alone has the potential to lift 7.6 million people from extreme poverty and another 32 million even from moderate poverty (those earning less than $3.2/day), mostly in the BRI corridor economies.
BRI projects unleash a vast opportunity to the nations in MENA, Central Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa to increase their exports. The increased trade would inevitably result in higher job opportunities and would add thrust to the downfall of poverty in the regions.
China’s mega drive of regional connectivity and shared growth aims to promote global economy, creating new trade routes, establish of infrastructure, and ramping up trade relations – the paybacks will be grossly experienced by all the countries of the world, particularly in the form of reduced poverty in the developing countries.
The BRI is fully aligned with the UN sustainable development agenda 2030 as well and hence could accelerate its SDGs in the given timeframe. If all countries would participate in the joint advancement of BRI, the dream of “no poverty” won’t remain an illusion anymore.