BEIJING: The world’s second-largest economy, China, have more than 82 million poor people who earn less than $1 a day as its official poverty standard is an annual income of 2,300 yuan ($375).
A senior government official, Zheng Wenkai, told media that China’s poor would rise to more than 200 million if the international standards were applied as World Bank’s own definition of poverty is $1.25 a day. He said that despite a decades-long boom, Chinese population was not only suffering from low income but also facing various difficulties in getting drinking water, roads, electricity, education, medical care and loans.
“Most of them live in areas prone to natural disasters or with inadequate infrastructure, and lifting them out of poverty is ‘a tough nut to crack’,” said Zheng, who is Vice Director of the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development.
