Xi stresses poverty relief for rural areas

GUIYANG - President Xi Jinping has stressed poverty relief in underdeveloped rural areas as key for economic development nationwide.

Xi made the remarks Thursday at a Communist Party of China (CPC) symposium on poverty relief and economic and social development in the 2016-2020 period.

"The heaviest and most arduous task for achieving a well-off society in an all-round way lies in the rural areas, especially the impoverished ones. Party committees and governments at all levels should strive for a scientific poverty relief plan," Xi told attendees.

China set the goal of an "all-round well-off society" by 2020, which includes specific requirements in GDP, income per capita, college enrollment rate and the number of doctors per 1,000 people, among others.

The symposium was held in an impoverished area in southwest China's Guizhou Province.

Xi urged officials to set goals that are "not too distant and not too conservative."