Premier Li Keqiang visits Banzigou, an impoverished village in Guyuan, Ningxia Hui autonomous region on Feb 1, 2016. As one of the most impoverished villages in Guyuan, Banzigou has been included into this year’s poverty relief relocating plan. On hearing that Premier Li was visiting the village, all villagers came out and talked with him. When asked whether they were ready to relocate, all answered yes with one voice. The Premier said it is hard to leave one’s homeland, but new life will start in the new place, and a wider world is waiting for them.
The main concern of the State Council’s executive meeting on Nov 15 was people’s well-being.
Three plans approved during the meeting on targeted poverty relief, education promotion in poor areas and environmental protection during the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020) were key points of the current development concerning people’s lives, said the Premier.
For poverty relief, Premier Li asked related departments to create an effective environment, setting poverty-stricken areas on a path of self-development.
To improve poor areas’ sustainable development is the most basic way out to shake off poverty, said the Premier, adding that promoting education is among the crucial measures.
Educational funds should be used in an effective way, said the Premier, calling on related departments to increase policy support to encourage more talent to settle in impoverished regions and help lift people out of poverty.
In addition, by sticking to combating pollution “until the goal is reached”, the government has issued many plans on pollution prevention.
The meeting passed a guideline for environmental protection during the 13th Five-Year Plan period, further making clear multiple tasks for ecological development in China.
Some media say the three topics at the executive meeting were in line with the “new economic indicators” — income, employment and environment — and were major concerns of the Premier.
