China is expecting more international assistance to relieve
poverty, to address health issues and the AIDS epidemic, a senior
official said in Beijing Tuesday.
Yi Xiaozhun, assistant minister of commerce, told a group of
delegates from international organizations and local Chinese
officials that China is still a developing country and needs
assistance.
There are 30 million people in rural areas in urgent need of
adequate food and clothing. And the people's average income has
just reached US$1,000, far from the standard set by the United
Nations for medium and lower income countries, he said.
"China is still a developing country with a huge population," Yi
said at a meeting. "China's productivity level is relatively
backward and regional differences in development still big. China
also has an increasing number of senior citizens and migrant
laborers."
China has received altogether US$5.6 billion of assistance from
international bodies and foreign countries since 1979. The
assistance was destined for 1,000 projects ranging from poverty
reduction to prevention and control of HIV/AIDS.
The contributors were the UN Development Program, the UN
Population Fund, the UN Children's Fund, the World Bank, the
European Union and the Asian Development Bank, and more than 20
countries including Britain, Germany, Canada, Belgium, Japan and
Australia.
(Xinhua News Agency December 8, 2004)