The State Council issued a circular on June 29, announcing a national general survey of poverty alleviation spanning from 2020 to 2021.

Poverty alleviation is a fundamental task in China’s plan to comprehensively establish a moderately prosperous society and to fulfill the first centennial goal.

The general survey will focus on the authenticity and accuracy of the poverty alleviation results and get the whole picture of the poverty alleviation situation in the country. It will also publish statistical information on China’s poverty alleviation to assess the project.

The general survey will cover 832 key counties and impoverished areas, seven cities and counties in Aksu, Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, and some counties of 22 provinces in central and west China.

The general survey will cover all administrative villages and communities with registered impoverished households and those in the targeted regions.

The general survey will include basic information about the registered households, the current state of supplies of food and clothing, compulsory education, basic medication, housing security, major sources of income, and more.

To better lead the survey, the State Council set up the National Leading Group of the General Survey of Poverty Alleviation, with its office in the National Bureau of Statistics.

Fiscal authorities at the national and regional levels will take care of any expenditures from the general survey, which should be covered in the annual government budget.

Despite the COVID-19 impact, all departments concerned should pay great attention to the general survey, map out related plans in a meticulous manner and fulfill their duties.

The survey work should be carried out in accordance with the Law of Statistics, and Regulation on the Implementation of the Statistics Law, and the general survey plans.

All objects should provide concerned information and materials in a real, accurate, complete, and timely manner. All survey institutions and officials should accurately collect and report the materials, abiding by rules of confidentiality.

The institutions and officials should make full use of advanced information technologies to directly collect and report source data, employ stringent whole-process data quality management, step up staff management and training, and establish a data quality assurance and management mechanism.

All stakeholders of the general survey, along with publicity departments, should announce the related information of the survey under the supervision of the public.