The city of Maoming in South China's Guangdong province has achieved great progress in its poverty alleviation efforts, with the year 2020 in particular being a crucial year for winning the battle against poverty.

All of the 66,040 registered impoverished households and the 154,380 impoverished people in Maoming have reached the country's standard of being lifted out of poverty, and so have the 180 provincial-level impoverished villages.

China set its poverty line at a per capita annual income of 2,300 yuan ($355.66) at 2010 constant values, or $2.3 in terms of purchasing power parity per person per day. Impoverished people should have "two assurances" (adequate food and clothing) and "three guarantees" (access to compulsory education, basic medical services, and safe housing).

Pushan village in Huazhou, a county-level city in Maoming, has developed a featured agricultural industry and increased the incomes of its residents. [Photo by Lin Yiyu/WeChat account: maofabu]

Maoming has been developing its modern agricultural industry in recent years to promote poverty alleviation through economic growth. To date, 626 special poverty alleviation industrial bases of a certain scale have been established in the city. A total of 41,870 industrial projects have been implemented by 23,802 poverty-stricken households, with an average income of 6,722.77 yuan.

The city also advanced its efforts in poverty alleviation through consumption. It has built more than 2,100 e-commerce service centers, logistics service sites, counters, special zones, and supermarkets for consumption-driven poverty alleviation.

Over 900 consumption-driven poverty alleviation exhibition events have been carried out in the city, selling agricultural products worth 913 million yuan.

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, Maoming has been helping local enterprises resume work and production and has opened "green channels" for impoverished people to find employment. The actual transfer employment rate of impoverished people in the city was 92.09 percent.

This photovoltaic project in Maonan district, Maoming, a cooperative venture by the district government and Guangdong Energy Group Co Ltd, helps local impoverished people increase their incomes. [Photo by Huang Xintao/WeChat account: maofabu]

In addition, policies to ensure the education, medical care, housing and drinking water of impoverished people have been fully implemented in Maoming.

The "one-stop" settlement service for medical assistance now covers all the counties and towns in Maoming. Medical assistance has been provided for 100,300 poverty-stricken people, with a total assistance amounting to 40.14 million yuan.

Over 98.79 percent of registered impoverished people in Maoming have participated in the nine-year compulsory education program.

In addition, Zhuhai has been offering pairing assistance to Maoming's poverty alleviation efforts, and has helped 31,799 impoverished people in 10,593 households in 142 villages in Maoming in recent years.