China's poverty alleviation efforts will shift focus

Significance

However, poverty alleviation is not irreversible. Severe climatic and natural disasters over the past couple of years, along with COVID-19 and heavy-handed policy responses to it, provide striking evidence of forces that are capable of returning the most vulnerable within Chinese society to poverty.

Impacts

• China is likely to adopt a higher poverty line in the future.
• Urban poverty will loom larger and become a more urgent policy focus.
• Millions of Chinese will remain vulnerable to falling into (or back into) poverty due to ill-health, job loss or lack of opportunity.