Pilot Project of Key Problem Tackling for Development and Poverty Reduction in the Wuling Mountain area

　　On the morning of November 15, the State Council Leading Group of Poverty Alleviation and Development held the pilot project kick-off meeting on the key problem tackling for regional development and poverty reduction of the Wuling Mountain area in Jishou City of Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture of Hunan Province. Hui Liangyu, Member of CPC Central Committee Political Bureau, Vice Premier of the State Council and Head of the State Council Leading Group of Poverty Alleviation and Development attended the event and delivered an important speech. He stressed that we must take contiguous poor areas with particular difficulties as the main battlefield for key problem tackling in poverty reduction in the next decade and this is a major decision made by the central government in accordance with the overall goal of building a moderately prosperous society and the new situation of anti-poverty work. We should conscientiously implement the "Outline for Development-oriented Poverty Reduction for China’s Rural Areas (2011-2020)" and, in accordance with the basic principle of "promoting poverty reduction by regional development and accelerating regional development by anti-poverty work", increase investment, integrate various resources and put efforts on solving the bottleneck and prominent contradictions to accelerate the pace of poverty reduction and development in contiguous areas with special difficulties. We should do a good job in implementing pilot work of key problem tackling for regional development and poverty reduction in Wuling Mountain area and accumulate experience in the pilot work to play a demonstration role in promoting the poverty reduction in the whole country.

　　The CPC Central Committee and the State Council attach great importance to the economic and social development and poverty alleviation in the Wuling Mountain area. Premier Wen Jiabao and Chairman Jia Qinglin made several important instructions. Chairman Jia Qinglin and Vice Premier Li Keqiang personally carried out field research in the Wuling Mountain area. In accordance with the requirements of the State Council, the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development and the National Development and Reform Commission, in conjunction with the relevant provinces, cities and departments, seriously carried out the planning preparation for the regional development and poverty reduction of the Wuling Mountain area and completed the work on time. The planning was submitted to the State Council and approved in early October 2011. The contiguous poor regions in Wuling Mountain area determined by the “Planning for Key Problem Tackling for Regional Development and Poverty Reduction in the Wuling Mountain Area (2011-2020)” include 71 counties (cities, districts) of 11 prefectures (cities, autonomous prefectures) in Hunan, Hubei, Guizhou and Chongqing, including 11 counties of Hubei, 16 of Guizhou, 7 of Chongqing and 37 of Hunan. Covering a land area of 171,800 square kilometers, the Wuling Mountain area had a population of 36.45 million as of the end of 2010, of which 8.53 million were urban residents and 27.92 million were rural residents. It is a contiguous poor area covering a large interprovincial area and a large number of minorities with the poor widely distributed. The holding of this pilot project kick-off meeting marked the beginning of the implementation of pilot work of key problem tackling for regional development and poverty reduction in the Wuling Mountain area.

　　LGOP Director-General Fan Xiaojian announced the "Approval of the State Council on the Planning for Key Problem Tackling for Regional Development and Poverty Reduction in the Wuling Mountain Area (2011-2020)". NDRC Deputy Director-General Du Ying introduced the preparation situation and main contents of the "Planning for Key Problem Tackling for Regional Development and Poverty Reduction in the Wuling Mountain Area (2011-2020)".

　　Xu Shousheng, Deputy Secretary of Hunan Provincial Party Committee and Governor of Hunan Province, Zhao Kezhi, Deputy Secretary of Guizhou Provincial Party Committee and Governor of Guizhou Province, Ma Zhengqi, Standing Member of Chongqing Municipal Committee and Senior Vice Mayor, as well as Vice Governor of Hubei Province Zhao Bin respectively delivered a speech at the meeting.

　　Ding Xuedong, Deputy Secretary General of the State Council, Vice Finance Minister Liao Xiaojun, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Transport Gao Hongfeng, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Railways Lu Dongfu, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Water Resources Jiao Yong, Vice Minister of Agriculture Zhang Taolin, Deputy Director of State Forestry Administration Zhao Shucong, Deputy Director of the National Tourism Administration Wang Zhifa, Deputy Director of the Research Office of the State Council Huang Shouhong, Standing Member and Secretary General of Hunan Provincial Party Committee Yang Taibo and Vice Governor of Guizhou Province Lu Zhiming were present at the event.

　　Hui Liangyu pointed out in his speech that we have made remarkable achievements in the poverty alleviation and development and basically solved the survival, food and clothing problem of rural residents. Based on the situation and task of the poverty alleviation and development at present and in future, the central government decided to make 11 contiguous poor areas with particular difficulties namely the Liupan Mountain area, the Qinba Mountain area, the Wuling Mountain area, the Wumeng Mountain area; rocky desertification areas in Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi; mountainous border areas in Western Yunnan, the south of the Greater Khingan Mountains, the Yanshan Mountain-Taihang Mountain area, the Luliang Mountain area, the Dabie Mountain area and the Luoxiao Mountain area, and the Tibet, Tibetan areas in Qinghai, Sichuan, Yunnan and Gansu as well three prefectures in South Xinjiang that enjoy special support policy as the main battlefield of the poverty reduction in the future. This is a major innovation of the national poverty reduction strategy, an important aspect of achieving coordinated regional development and an effective measure to promote social harmony. It is great practical significance and far-reaching historical significance to promoting the comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable economic and social development, protecting national ecological security, promoting national unity, maintaining consolidation of border areas and ensuring the common prosperity of Chinese people.

　　Hui Liangyu stressed that in order to accumulate experience and methods for interprovincial contiguous area-based large-scale poverty reduction, the central government decided to first launch pilot project of key problem tackling for poverty reduction and regional development of the Wuling Mountain area. We must conscientiously implement the regional development and poverty reduction planning of the Wuling Mountain area to ensure the smooth implementation of the pilot work. First, make clear the responsibilities, assign the tasks to relevant departments and seriously implement the policy measures in accordance with the requirements of “overall deployment by the central government, overall responsibility by provinces and implementation by counties”. Second, link the national overall planning with the relevant special programs and set up the interprovincial coordination system for the development of the Wuling Mountain area. Third, strengthen the communications between various departments and provide strong support for policy development, capital investment and project arrangement. Fourth, extensively mobilize all circles of society to participate in the work and mobilize the initiatives of local cadres and the masses. Fifth, strengthen the research work and set up a scientific and comprehensive monitoring and evaluation system.

　　On the basis of summing up the experience of the Wuling Mountain area, Hui Liangyu said, we should promote the key problem tackling for poverty reduction in other contiguous poor areas with particular difficulties. We must strengthen the coordination of anti-poverty work in the contiguous poor areas, set up the mechanism for fixed-point liaison and arrange one central ministry to take charge of the work in each contiguous area. We must attach importance to the preparation of the poverty reduction planning of other contiguous areas and develop preferential policies to support the contiguous areas as soon as possible, and actively explore the establishment of new mechanisms and new methods for the orderly and effective implementation of anti-poverty work in the contiguous poor areas.

　　Zhou Qiang stressed in his speech that under the loving care of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, the regional development and poverty reduction in the Wuling Mountain area has become an objective of the national development strategy. The holding of the pilot project kick-off meeting marked the beginning of the implementation stage of the regional development and poverty reduction in the Wuling Mountain Area. It is a landmark event and a major happy occasion inspiring all ethnic groups in the Wuling Mountain area. Poverty alleviation and development is a long-term historical task. Due to the large size, deep level of poverty and a large number of poverty-stricken people, the anti-poverty work in the Wuling Mountain area is an arduous task. The implementation of regional development and poverty reduction in the Wuling Mountain area is a major historic opportunity for Hunan. The holding of the pilot project kick-off meeting in Hunan is a strong encouragement and powerful spur to the scientific development, especially the anti-poverty work of Hunan Province. Hunan will conscientiously implement the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, conscientiously implement the spirit of the conference and the spirit of the important speech delivered by Comrade Hui Liangyu, seriously learn from the good ideas, practices and experiences of other provinces and municipalities, further enhance the sense of mission, sense of responsibility and sense of urgency, strengthen the organization and leadership,  do a good job in the top-level design, strengthen collaboration and coordination, and vigorously promote the implementation of the “Planning for Key Problem Tackling for Regional Development and Poverty Reduction in the Wuling Mountain Area (2011-2020)” to make due contributions to changing the Wuling Mountain area into a demonstration area for poverty alleviation, a new area for interprovincial cooperation, a model area for national unity, an internationally renowned eco-cultural tourism area and an important ecological security barrier of the Yangtze River basin.

　　Xu Shousheng said in his speech that Hunan has the confidence and determination to win the anti-poverty campaign and will vigorously implement the anti-poverty work to form joint forces for key problem tackling and mobilize all circles of society to accelerate the poverty reduction according to the major decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council. We’ll develop the provincial, municipal and county-level planning as soon as possible to ensure the effective convergence of various programs, organize the planning implementation step by step according to plan and make preparations in advance for project development and reserves. We’ll continue to refine the anti-poverty work, follow the laws of nature, the laws of economics and the laws of the market in the primary stage of socialism, develop in the protection and protect in the development, promote the equalization of basic public services in urban and rural areas, significantly improve the production and living conditions, accelerate the development of industries with local characteristics and implement pro-poor policies and anti-poverty funds in specific projects to promote the scientific development of the contiguous areas. We’ll actively explore the establishment of demonstrative, replicable, sustainable poverty alleviation systems and mechanisms to benefit the people, focus on key work for development and the improvement of people's livelihood, pay equal attention to material support and intelligence support, insist on self-reliance, adhere to being hardworking and thrifty, do whatever we can within our capabilities to optimize the structure of expenditures and solve problems for the masses, and ensure that funds, resources and elements are put to where they are needed most to improve the effectiveness of key problem tackling for poverty reduction.