The latest United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) report stressed the specific role of empowering women and the young as a way to reduce global poverty, which offers food for thought in our efforts to release the potential of our poverty-stricken people.

The report points out that "power imbalances and inequities - between rich and poor, men and women, young and old, mainstream society and marginalized groups - squander human capital and limit opportunities to overcome poverty."

The thematic emphasis on balance is certainly significant as the world has reached consensus about the importance of equality.

In China's case, the UNFPA call has special significance.

China has achieved poverty-reduction wonders in the past two decades, cutting the number of its poor from 250 million in 1978 to 26.1 million last year - an achievement widely recognized by the world.

But the overall picture should not allow us to forget the setbacks suffered and increasing challenges faced by our poverty-reduction workers.

In the first place, China's low poverty standard constitutes a statistical pitfall that often undermines the accuracy of our understanding of what is really happening on the ground. The State is reportedly considering raising the poverty line to fall in with international standards.

Currently those that earn less than 668 yuan (US$83) a year are considered poor. If the international standard of about US$1 a day is adopted, China will face much more daunting tasks.

The number of poor citizens increased, for the first time since China launched large-scale poverty-reduction campaigns two decades ago, by 800,000 in 2003.

Experts agree that in recent years China has slowed down in its efforts to release its people from the clutches of poverty. In the first four years of the new millennium, the number of poor Chinese people dropped by 1.5 million every year, on average. In the 1990s, it was 6.4 million.

The new trend calls for a shift in the strategy of our poverty-reduction work as well as the national development blueprint.

Outside help coupled with the economic dividends of fast-paced economic reforms, which raised the general income level of labourers, forced down the number of poor people.

But as the Chinese economy becomes more capital- and technology-intensive, it is harder for those at the economic and social bottom to share the benefits of growth. Putting money in the pockets of the poor can no longer ensure a sustainable life.

To enable them to share the fruit of the expanding economy, it is crucial for the country to provide the poor with affordable education and training, which means opportunities for human capital development.

Poverty often stems from a lack of opportunity and education.

Without such opportunities, the future will be grim for the poor and their children in the knowledge-based era, despite increased government input in poverty-reduction.

Other programmes, such as medical care and social security, are also indispensable since they will prevent people from being plunged into the abyss of poverty after suffering from serious diseases.

All this demands an immediate shift in our overall strategy of social development.

(China Daily October 14, 2005)