BEIJING — Vice-Premier Wang Yang asked developed regions in the east to better help their partner regions in the west fight poverty.

China has been promoting pairing and cooperation between eastern and western regions in poverty relief for 20 years, and the strategy has played an important role in poverty relief and promoting coordinated regional development.

“We have seen significant progress through the cooperation,” Wang said on Aug 25 at a government teleconference on poverty alleviation, calling for more efforts to strengthen east-west partnership.

Wang said eastern areas should dispatch more responsible and capable officials to the west, especially those with professional skills and management experience.

Industrial cooperation should be strengthened, and governments should ensure stable employment for poor migrant workers from western areas, according to Wang.

China has vowed to eliminate poverty by 2020.