The southwestern province of Sichuan plans to relocate 1.2 million residents out of areas where the geography is blamed for grinding poverty.

The resettlements will target villages with harsh living conditions or fragile biodiversity, as well as scattered settlements in which it is hard to provide infrastructure and public services, the provincial government said at a press conference on Thursday.

Deng Changjin with the province's development and reform commission said the relocation will be completed within five years.

By 2020, Sichuan will have no residents living below the national poverty line of 2,300 yuan (370 U.S. dollars) in annual income, the provincial government has vowed. The province has 11,501 villages it classifies as "poverty-ridden," mainly in remote mountainous regions that are prone to natural disasters.

Deng said the government will offer the resettled people training and other support to help them settle in their new homes.

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