Vice-Premier Wang Yang on July 28 called for stronger partnerships between developed regions in the east and the less developed west to better fight poverty.

Poverty alleviation through east-west cooperation will help to narrow the regional gap and foster coordinated development, Wang told a meeting of the State Council leading group on poverty relief.

More efforts should be made to strengthen pairing between eastern and western regions and expand cooperation, said Wang, who is also head of the group.

Industries in the east should be encouraged to move west to create jobs and boost the local economy, thus, helping to alleviate poverty, and personnel support must be reinforced, he said.

At the end of 2014, China had 70 million people living below the nation’s poverty line. Almost all live in the countryside, particularly in the west. The government has vowed to lift them all out of poverty by 2020.