Song Xin: Shaking off Poverty Is Not the Finish Line

Now that China has eradicated poverty, rural revitalization becomes a major task for economic and social development during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) period. With regards to achieving smooth transition from poverty alleviation to  rural revitalization, Song Xin, a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference National Committee and chairman of China Energy Conservation and Environmental Protection Group (CECEP), believes that consolidating poverty alleviation achievements while promoting rural revitalization relies on active participation of every Chinese. 

For CECEP, poverty alleviation has been of paramount importance for quite a long time. From 2016 to 2020, the company invested 60 million yuan to help Songxian County in Henan Province and Fuchuan County in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, its two paired-up poverty relief counties. It also helped the counties attract a total of 33 million yuan as the fund to reduce poverty, trained over 4,000 management and technical professionals, helped the villagers sell local produce worth of more than 5 million yuan, provided financial assistance to over 2,400 impoverished college students and created more than 2,000 jobs for locals. These efforts greatly promoted local economic development and improved people’s lives. 

Song remarks that helping people get rid of poverty is not the finish line, but the starting point of a new life and new endeavor. CECEP will, on the basis of its successful work to move the two counties out of the poverty list, explore more pathways to revitalize the counties’ economy through various areas including facilitating industrial development, stimulating consumption and encouraging education. The company will stay committed to rural revitalization and contribute to securing a full victory in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects.