President Xi Jinping claims to have eradicated extreme poverty

In China, the Communist Party claims that Xi Jinping has eradicated poverty in his country. The Chinese president is presented as close to the people by propaganda on television. Officially, 100 million inhabitants have emerged from poverty over the past ten years. “We have eliminated extreme poverty and achieved a moderately prosperous society”, assures Xi Jinping, the Chinese president. Yet working conditions remain harsh for many Chinese. “There are five of us at home, my husband also works, but we have two children and the grandmother to feed”explains Li Zhen La, agricultural worker.

Today, in China, a person is considered poor if they earn less than 527 euros per year, or 1.75 euros per day. This poverty line is below that set by the World Bank, which is 5.70 euros per day. According to the World Bank, China still has 225 million poor people. “China has become almost as unequal as the United States. Wealth gaps keep widening, there have never been so many billionaires”concludes the journalist Arnauld Miguet, France Televisions China.