What China’s success against poverty is telling the Philippines

In a speech delivered by Chinese President Xi Jinping on Feb. 25, 2021, he officially confirmed the liberation of 770 million Chinese from poverty. Months ago, I already had occasion to cite this phenomenon, placing that number at 800 million, which was the figure quoted by accounts in international media. Evidently the reduced figure only reflects President Xi’s fidelity to facts, and, at any rate, does not digress much from earlier touted achievement in the Chinese war against poverty.

In the speech, President Xi cited the benchmark set by the United Nations for poverty alleviation, pegging per capita income at $1.9. The annual per capita Chinese income is placed at 4,000 yuan, which when converted amounts to $2.20. This shows that China has set for herself a much higher hurdle to fight poverty, and yet has overcome.