BEIJING, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- China unveiled a new government body for the promotion of rural vitalization on Thursday as the world's most populous country declared an end to absolute poverty, shifting its policy focus to further boosting rural areas.

The new national administration for rural vitalization is the successor to the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development, which focused on overseeing China's poverty alleviation efforts.

Vice Premier Hu Chunhua, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, attended the ceremony for the debut.

The launch of the new administration is an important move to consolidate and expand the country's poverty alleviation results and guarantee a smooth transition into rural vitalization, Hu said.

He urged the administration to bear in mind its responsibilities, improve mechanisms to prevent people from falling back into poverty, and promote rural vitalization in an all-round way.

As the eradication of absolute poverty indicates a new starting point for China, the new administration will work to promote rural vitalization in areas that have shaken off poverty while consolidating poverty alleviation outcomes.

The debut of the new administration came after China's announcement of "complete victory" in eradicating absolute poverty, marking the transition of the country's policy priority from poverty alleviation to comprehensively promoting rural vitalization.

A grand gathering was also held in Beijing on Thursday to mark the country's accomplishments in poverty alleviation and to honor its model poverty fighters.

Official data shows that the final 98.99 million impoverished rural residents living under the current poverty line have all been lifted out of poverty over the past eight years. All of the 832 impoverished counties and 128,000 impoverished villages have been removed from the poverty list.

"China will make the comprehensive advancement of rural vitalization a major task in realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation," said the country's "No. 1 central document" for 2021, which was unveiled on Sunday.

The document, a key indicator of policy priorities, said China will set a five-year transition period for counties that have shaken off poverty and gradually shift the policy focus from poverty alleviation toward comprehensively promoting rural vitalization. Enditem

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