China has successfully solved the problem of food and clothing for millions of people and it will slash the budget deficit by more than US$2 billion this year, according to Finance Minister Jin Renqing.  

In an exclusive interview with Xinhua on Thursday, Jin, who is in Istanbul attending the 38th annual meeting of the Asia Development Bank (ADB), said that China has been contributing to global fight against poverty both at home and abroad.

More than 200 million people in China's poor rural areas have become better off since the country launched its massive poverty alleviation plan 20 years ago, a miracle in China's history of development, Jin said.

It is also a great contribution to global efforts to reduce poverty and promote economic development as China is the biggest developing country in the world with a population of more than 1 billion, he said.

China will invest more in education, health care, culture and social development with continued efforts to expand incomes of the rural population in its bid to build a harmonious society, said the minister.

In addition, China has made contributions within its capacity to help other countries fight poverty, he added.

"After a US$30-million contribution to the Asian Development Fund in 2004, China donated another US$20 million to the ADB to establish the PRC Fund for Poverty Reduction and Regional Cooperation. This embodies China's strong trust in and support for the ADB as a responsible shareholder. This also reflects China's firm commitment to the development and cooperation in the region," he said.

On China's financial policy for this year, Jin said it contains four major aspects. One is to slash the budget deficit by 19.8 billion yuan (about US$2.4 billion) to 300 billion yuan (about US$36.6 billion) from a year ago.

The second is to readjust the structure of expenditure with more attention to weak points of the social development.

The third is to allocate resources to help establish a mechanism under which enterprises depend on themselves rather than on state support to develop.

The fourth is to improve management, with approximately no big increase in taxation but better control and effective use of funds.

(Xinhua News Agency May 7, 2005)