The Shibadong Forum on Poverty Reduction and Development was held in Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture on November 3, 2023.
The two villages agreed to establish an exchange visit mechanism, on the basis of which they will carry out regular friendly exchanges and visits, both online and in-person; organize various activities, such as research visits, meetings, symposiums, and trainings; and discuss further collaboration. Both sides will make a sustained effort to promote bilateral "sisterhood" and enhance cooperation.
The two villages will share their respective experiences in poverty eradication and rural revitalization, based on their respective positions in their countries' poverty eradication and rural revitalization programs. They will do their utmost to help each other in the fields of industrial development, countryside construction, grass-roots governance, and specialty products marketing. Moreover, relying on the "people-to-people connectivity" concept in the Belt and Road Initiative, they will join hands to create a village-level example for the development of international exchanges and cooperation, as well as a village benchmark for the advancement of rural revitalization.
Shibadong Village is the birthplace of China's "targeted poverty alleviation". Over the past decade, the village has leveraged its geographical advantages to develop its industries, forming several featured industries such as countryside tourism, yellow peaches, kiwi fruit, Miao embroidery, and mountain spring water. These have increased the per capita income of the villagers from 1,688 yuan in 2013 to 23,505 yuan in 2022, and cultivated a collective economy which reached 3.8 million yuan in 2022. Shibadong Village has become a landmark to showcase China's achievements and experiences in poverty alleviation.
This forum was hosted by the Publicity Department of the CPC Hunan Provincial Committee, the China Foreign Languages Publishing Administration (CICG), and the Hunan Provincial Rural Revitalization Bureau.
This article is from the Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn.
Translator: Pang Yuehui
Chinese source: Chinanews
