The 16th ASEAN-China Forum on Social Development and Poverty Reduction was held on Tuesday in the city of Nanning, Southern China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The year 2022's event was held both online and offline. About 150 participants from China and 10 ASEAN countries, international organizations, experts and scholars participated in the conference. 

This is China's concrete action to actively respond to the spirit of the "High-level dialogue on global development," and jointly promote the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, according to Liu Huanxin, Administrator of National Rural Revitalization Administration of China. 

In 2020, China achieved the goal of poverty eradication 10 years ahead of schedule, completing the arduous task of eliminating absolute poverty. However, getting rid of poverty is not the end, but the starting point of a new life. Liu said that China will consolidate and expand the poverty alleviation results and take them as a prerequisite for rural revitalization. Focused on ensuring the stability of poverty reduction and not returning to poverty, it will establish and improve dynamic monitoring and support mechanisms to prevent return to poverty. 

To improve the regular work mechanism in villages, 186,000 first Party secretaries and 563,000  team members will be selected for key villages to promote the role of village officials in promoting local industrial development. At the same time, China will promote and improve the reconstruction of villages, and enhance the rural infrastructure construction and basic public services, he said. 

China and ASEAN have established dialogue relations for 30 years, and the two sides have joined together to advance poverty reduction and development of the rural areas and to improve their living standards and overall prosperity.

China will conduct in-depth studies of the poverty reduction assistance projects implemented in six poor villages in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, and promote cooperation in the implementation of the projects. Moreover, China's National Rural Revitalization Administration will organize the establishment of an " China-ASEAN Poverty Reduction Experts Database" to gather new ideas and practices from various countries and fields to promote poverty reduction and rural development, and improve knowledge sharing, Liu Huanxin said.

With the overlapping effects of climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical factors, countries in the region have encountered setbacks in the process of poverty reduction and are facing the common challenge of returning to poverty. 

Deng Xijun, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of China to ASEAN, proposed at the forum that the two sides should strengthen the coordination of initiatives to eliminate poverty and further strengthen the global development initiative.

"We should innovate ways of cooperation to create highlights of poverty reduction. We should gradually expand from the traditional bridge-building, road-building, medical and agricultural technologies and capacity training to opening a new phase of innovative poverty alleviation through economy and trade, tourism, environmental protection and technology. We should rely on and use emerging technologies such as internet plus, artificial intelligence and financial technology to empower and add strength to the cooperation between the two sides," he added.

The year 2022's forum is themed on "strengthening exchanges on poverty reduction and jointly building a prosperous homeland," aimed at exchanging new practices and experiences of poverty reduction governance in different countries and sharing new models and practices in promoting rural development.

"I give a thumb-up to the achievements and policies of China's poverty reduction work and also want to exchange experiences with China," Benjamas Tanvetyanont, Consul-General of Thailand to Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, told the Global Times.

Tanvetyanont believes that China insists on putting the people first and serving the people, which will help get the support of the people and promote the development of poverty eradication work. China implemented targeted poverty alleviation policies and implemented them at the grassroots level. Each village in Guangxi has a poverty reduction team , and it is impressive that the staff understand the local situation in depth, listen to the farmers' needs and help them solve their problems.