Caixin (July 17) reported "dramatic changes" in the Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture in recent years, as Beijing’s ambitious campaign to end absolute poverty by the end of this year has led to greater urbanization and generous subsidies being handed out to those deemed deserving. President Xi Jinping has made the anti-poverty campaign one of his signature policies since Beijing pledged to end poverty by 2020 in the 13th Five Year Plan, issued in 2016. The national poverty line is set at an annual income of 2,300 yuan a year at 2010 prices, which is about 4,200 yuan ($604) a year now. Caixin said Liangshan has seven impoverished counties — where the average income is below the poverty line — more than any other prefecture-level region in China. The remote, rugged region, therefore, poses a challenge to whether Beijing can truly meet its self-imposed deadline to abolish absolute poverty this year.
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