中文
By Xia Fangting and Huo Shuaihe
An Indian policy expert praised China's poverty eradication efforts as a model for developing nations, speaking at an international development forum in China's southwestern Yunnan province.
Sudheendra Kulkarni, former director of operations in India's Prime Minister's Office and chairman of the Forum for a New South Asia, described China's elimination of extreme poverty in 2020 as "epoch-changing" at the 2025 International Forum on Poverty Governance and Global Development (Nujiang Forum), held March 29-30 in Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture.
"The happy smiles on the faces of Chinese children on Nujiang's riverfront are the best proof that poverty eradication and rural revitalization in China have worked, including in the multi-ethnic Yunnan province," he said.
Sudheendra Kulkarni, former director of operations in India's Prime Minister's Office and chairman of the Forum for a New South Asia, speaks at the 2025 International Forum on Poverty Governance and Global Development (Nujiang Forum) in Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan province, March 29, 2025. [Photo courtesy of Nujiang Forum]
China's success stemmed from integrated planning and effective implementation that included modernizing agriculture, improving rural infrastructure, developing the non-farm economy, and preserving rural cultural traditions, Kulkarni said.
Environmental preservation played a key role in China's poverty eradication and rural revitalization efforts, Kulkarni noted."Lush mountains, clear waters, and blue skies are the invaluable assets of China," he said, quoting Chinese President Xi Jinping. "This is true in every country around the world."
The key challenge confronting governments globally is ensuring no poor country, community or individual gets left behind, particularly in the Global South, Kulkarni said. However,achieving this requires stronger international cooperation under what he called the current "unjust and inequitable global order."
He warned that militarism is the greatest threat to global poverty eradication. "If the mammoth amount of money and resources that are today spent on the militaries of the world were diverted to economic growth and human development, poverty could be eradicated globally in a very short time,"Kulkarni said. He urged the global community to embrace nonviolence and cooperation as guiding principles.
The forum, themed "Together Promote Rural Revitalization and Common Development,"featured panel discussions and roundtables, where participants shared strategies for tackling global poverty.
