A modern agricultural park in Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture, Sichuan Province attracts international attention. Photo: CNS

Consolidating and expanding the achievements of poverty alleviation requires the poverty-alleviated population to maintain their improved living conditions and continue to develop despite various risks and shocks. The resilience of poverty reduction refers to the ability of low-income populations (including those who have been lifted out of poverty) to sustain their improved living conditions even when faced with unexpected risks and shocks.

Enhancing resilience  

The concept of poverty reduction resilience focuses on long-term sustainability and sustainable development capabilities. This aligns with China’s current philosophy of “promoting rural revitalization across the board.” Improving poverty reduction resilience is not only crucial for global poverty reduction work under the new conditions, but also serves as a key foothold for China to enter a new stage of development, consolidate the effectiveness of poverty alleviation, and efficiently connect with rural revitalization plans.

In light of the overall global poverty reduction situation, consolidating and expanding the achievements of poverty alleviation requires enhancing poverty reduction resilience. In recent years, the effectiveness of global poverty reduction has experienced some fluctuations. Global poverty reduction is accompanied by political instability and local conflicts, economic marginalization, rural decline, natural disasters, and climate change, which collectively affect the least developed regions and make global poverty reduction work vulnerable to external shocks. As the largest developing country, China successfully eradicated absolute poverty by the end of 2020, according to current standards. This achievement has significantly contributed to the global poverty reduction progress.

China has entered a new phase in its poverty alleviation journey, which necessitates the strengthening of poverty reduction resilience. During the targeted national poverty alleviation period, the “Six Precisions” in poverty alleviation (precision in selecting beneficiaries, precision in project arrangement, precision in the utilization of funds, precision in sending the right personnel to poverty-striken villiages and precision in poverty elimination outcomes) were highlighted, and classified policies were implemented and adhered to. By the end of 2020, absolute poverty was eradicated. Presently, China is consolidating and expanding the achievements of poverty alleviation.

To consolidate and expand the achievements of poverty alleviation and effectively align with rural revitalization, it is necessary to enhance poverty reduction resilience. The former is a prerequisite for achieving rural revitalization and a fundamental measure for achieving effective alignment. Consolidating the achievements of poverty alleviation needs to be combined with rural revitalization planning to improve the level and efficiency of poverty alleviation in the new stage and promote sustainable development in poverty-alleviated areas.

Holistic measures

The concept of resilience originated in physics, referring to an object’s ability to return to its original state after experiencing external forces. Some scholars view resilience not only as the capacity of a system to recover from external shocks but also as the ability of complex social ecosystems to adapt, transform, and withstand external pressures and constraints. By applying the concept of resilience to the environment, we can effectively consolidate the gains made in poverty alleviation. Moreover, it can align more closely with the ecological revitalization efforts within the rural revitalization framework.

This article explores the integration of China’s rural revitalization strategy with the concept of poverty reduction resilience. It examines how poverty reduction resilience can be strengthened under new circumstances, focusing on three key aspects: environmental resilience, economic resilience, and social resilience.

Firstly, enhancing poverty reduction resilience requires improving environmental resilience. In poverty-alleviated areas of China, environmental factors constrain people’s development. Due to regional limitations and other factors, farmers’ ability to respond to and recover from adverse impacts such as natural disasters is relatively weak. Once disasters occur, the losses caused are enormous, highlighting the importance and necessity of building up environmental resilience. In these vulnerable areas, the invasion of nature is irresistible, and environmental resilience includes the ability of ecosystems to resist, adapt, and transform in order to resist external pressures. Building environmental resilience refers to formulating appropriate ecological policies based on the heterogeneity of different regions to resist natural disasters and avoid significant losses.

Secondly, enhancing poverty reduction resilience requires improving economic resilience. Economic resilience is an important support and guarantee for the smooth operation of rural systems. The government needs to not only continue focusing policy support on areas where poverty has been alleviated, but also needs to provide industrial assistance and training for technical workers in these areas. Meanwhile, diversified economic development in poverty-alleviated areas is encouraged, to ensure sustained income growth for farmers. While driving economic growth, it is also necessary to develop infrastructure effectively, especially in sectors like healthcare and education, in order to raise the human capital of rural people. The development of the rural economy cannot be separated from innovation. It is necessary to support individuals to return to their hometowns to start business and realize sustainable development.  

Thirdly, enhancing poverty reduction resilience requires enhancing social resilience. Social resilience is the connectivity between various parts, and the force that sustains social structure and development. Improving social resilience requires government agencies to play a core role, working collaboratively with communities and individuals to implement tailored measures for different social groups. Meanwhile, culture acts as a unifying link in society. It is recommended to bolster social resilience by fostering regional cultural development, enhancing the social relevance of multi-dimensional collaboration among the government, society, and individuals, and better serve the implementation of rural revitalization strategies.

Hu Lian (professor) and Sheng Di are from the Urban and Rural Development Research Center at Anhui University of Finance and Economics.

Edited by ZHAO YUAN