Guizhou, Guangdong provinces join forces to fight poverty

Agricultural products from Guizhou are offered for sale at a Guangdong market. [Photo/ddcpc website]

South China's Guangdong province is continuing to assist in the fight by Guizhou province in Southwest China against poverty and its push to improve the prosperity of its residents – in a joint effort that has been going on for 26 years.

From 2016 to 2020, Guangdong invested 3.35 billion yuan ($499.62 million) in Guizhou's Bijie city and Qiannan Bouyei and Miao autonomous prefecture. It implemented 1,612 poverty alleviation projects there involving infrastructure, science and education, healthcare and economic cooperation.

Guangdong's Guangzhou city during the period sent 129 government officials and 4,398 professionals to Guizhou to train 13,500 officials and 140,000 professionals. Guangzhou also helped with the development of 855 schools and 564 hospitals in Bijie and Qiannan.

Focusing on boosting industrial development and helping farmers increase their production and incomes, Guangdong and Guizhou have promoted industrial cooperation between the two provinces to bring in more investment, develop factories and industrial parks, market products, and expand tourism.

In 2016-2020, Guangdong helped Bijie and Qiannan to attract 288 new companies with a paid-up investment of 16.46 billion yuan, increasing the incomes of an estimated 650,000 people. It also helped Guizhou's impoverished people to find jobs in big cities such as Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Foshan and Zhongshan -- and encouraged companies to contact vocational colleges to help Guizhou students find employment after their graduation.

With Guangdong's support in finance, industrial development, employment, education, medical treatment and infrastructure, more people in Guizhou have been lifted out of poverty and have realized a substantial increase in their incomes.