China has decided to draft new guidelines for poverty reduction through development for the next ten years, according to a statement of an executive meeting of the State Council held Wednesday.

The meeting was chaired by Premier Wen Jiabao.

Participants of the meeting heard a report on the implementation of China's Rural Poverty Alleviation and Development Program (2001-2010).

The statement said that Chinese government has made great efforts to lift the rural poor out of poverty by development in the past decade and has met the United Nations Millennium Development Goal (MDG) to halve the the proportion of people living on less than $1 a day "ahead of schedule."

Other strides achieved by China are: noticeable improvement in the economic strength and infrastructure in impoverished regions, ecological degradation being brought under control, according to the statement.

The country is also said to have made good progress in construction of a social security network, which has been extended to cover the nation's rural areas with the establishment of a minimum living standard system, the new rural cooperative medical system and the pilot old-age insurance system.

The statement said China had been charged with an uphill task in poverty alleviation due to factors such as a large impoverished population, frequent threats of natural disasters, deep-rooted conflicts restraining the development of the poor areas.

The poverty reduction departments were told to intensify the relief work by integrating the development of urban and rural areas, and uphold the policy of supporting the poor through economic development.

The statement also called for great efforts in the forthcoming decade to ensure the rural per capita net income enjoying a higher growth than the national average.

Efforts should also be made to gradually improve the health, the living standard, and capabilities of steady progress for the poor, said the statement.

(Xinhua News Agency February 10, 2010)