UNITED NATIONS, June 11 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Tuesday called on the international community to redouble efforts and work together to eradicate poverty and create a better future for all.

In his remarks to a side event of the 12th Session of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Ma Zhaoxu, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, noted that according to the latest UN report, based on current progress, the goals in the area of poverty reduction in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development will not be achieved on schedule.

As the largest developing country, China has been an active advocate and promoter of the global cause of poverty reduction, Ma said.

"While battling against poverty of its own, China has been helping other developing countries, especially the least developed countries," he said.

Under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China is committed to enhancing complementarity of development strategies of relevant countries, to promote connectivity and common development through practical cooperation, he added.

"This is highly relevant to poverty eradication," Ma said, adding that the BRI has entered a new phase of high-quality development.

Guided by the "people first" philosophy, the BRI will make concrete contribution to poverty eradication and attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals by the countries involved, the envoy said.

Ma also highlighted China's own achievements in poverty reduction over the past decades.

According to him, from 1978 to 2018, China's rural poor have been reduced from 770 million to 16.6 million.

"China, putting people first, takes eradicating poverty, improving people's well-being and promoting common prosperity as its important mission," he said.

According to the World Bank estimates, he added, in the past four decades since the launch of reform and opening up, China contributed more than 40 percent to global poverty reduction.

When China turns itself into a well-off society next year, all the rural poor under the current standards will be lifted out of poverty, said Ma. "This will be a miracle in the history of poverty reduction."

"We are carrying out targeted poverty alleviation and massive programs and working on plans for the inclusive development of women, children, persons with disabilities and ethnic minority groups," he added. Enditem

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